The Election Process: Before Balloting--Before Voters Decide

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Before the electorate choses their leader, the candidates must present their policies to the electorate through the electoral campaign process. This process is limited by the the Length of the Election Campaign which is constitutionally governed. The length of an election campaign varies in different countries (Moyo 1992, Darnolf 2000). Moyo (1992) argues that either the Electoral Law or the Constitution does not precisely stipulate the length of the election campaign. Moyo, however, argues that the length is indirectly stipulated if one analyzes Section 29 (2b) and 86 (1) (b) of 1990 Electoral Act. The Act stipulates that the date of the poll should be between 21 and 45 days after the proclamation of the poll dates. Moyo (1992) argues that the incumbent President can either have a minimum campaign period of 21 days or an extended period of 45 days depending on how the incumbent visualizes the probability of winning.

Free and Fair Election Campaign. The election news coverage and political rallies should be free and fair. The freeness and fairness of an election campaign should be constitutionally guaranteed. Steytler et al (1994) argues that free and fair elections are a bedrock of a democracy. But, however, there is a need for press freedom, since without it, elections could not be considered free and effective expressions of the voter’s wishes (Keane 1991: 19).The freeness and fairness of an election campaign instill confidence among the electorate on the electoral system. .All the mechanisms, put in place to ensure a free and fair election must therefore be geared towards increasing public confidence in the election process, to ensure not that the election is generally free and fair, but also that it is perceived by the people to be free and fair. (Steytler et al 1994: 119, Darnolf 2000). While Moyo (1992: 14) aptly adds that .elections must not only be free and fair, but must also to be seen to be so., Armstrong and Edgeworth (1990: 60) would put this differently, .there is no justice unless it is also perceived as justice..Elections must be free-All parties must be given and guaranteed the right to campaign unhindered, and this should be constitutionally guaranteed. Steytler et al (1994) argue that, .for an election to truly reflect the will of the people, a reasonable degree of free political expression must be possible. (1994: 119). The electorate on their behalf should have access to information regarding the parties and their rallies, while the candidates and their parties should have access to the electorate so that they can canvass for support. In addition to this the people should have a constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression, assembly and association as they wish, and to freely engage in political activities in a specific and orderly manner, whatever the political party they belong to. This means that they should not have to seek permission or authority to hold a public meeting, provided that the meeting is conducted in an orderly manner and does not disturb public peace. Elections must be fair-Parties should be limited in their activities during the electioneering period by signing the election conduct. The voters on the other hand should cast their ballot papers in the ballot box without an outside influence (Potgieter 1991, Moyo 1992, Steytler et al 1994, Darnolf 2000, Harrop and Miller 1987). Nogxina (1991) argues that elections must therefore be preceded by the removal of both legal and structural obstacles to fairness (cited in Steytler et al 1994: 119). The national media must play a fair and unbiased role such as providing equal publicity to all political parties. The press must simply put to the public what the various political parties are saying or have on their political agenda and leave it to the electorate to make its own choice.

Channels of Election Campaign.

The election campaign is conducted in two fronts: political rallies and the press. Since this study is concerned with the role of the press in an election, it is however important to discuss the importance of a political rally. The press also covers political rallies.

The Importance of a Political Rally. The importance of a political rally in the Zimbabwean context dates back to the liberation struggle years. During the liberation struggle the freedom fighters organized pungwe6. The pungwe served as an instrument for politicization and mobilization of the rural population. The freedom fighters used the pungwe to solicit some support from the villagers (Herbst 1990, Darnolf 2000). A political rally is a meeting between the politicians and the electorate. Rallies are used for party awareness amongst the electorate. They are used as a forum to compete for voter interest. To assess the importance of a political rally, one needs to draw the argument from the ruling party of Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF. According to Zanu-PF, a political rally is the most important communication channel of the election campaign. Without it, it is not possible to win an election: "Of all things, you can never win an election by sitting here in Harare printing manifestos, talking to the radio, advertising, writing in the newspapers, without meeting the people" (Movern Mahachi: The Herald 02/27/95).A political rally is therefore the most effective channel of political communication between the politicians and the electorate. McQuail (1987) argues that political rallies are most concerned with directing; reinforcing and activating existing tendencies towards socially approved objectives like voting. Harrop and Miller (1987) on the other hand, argue that voters learn more from lively campaigns. Interested and informed voters generally learn more than those who start off with limited knowledge and enthusiasm. This means that political rallies decrease 'knowledge gaps. between the knowledgeable. and the ignorant' (1987: 266). What is interesting during a rally is that public speaking at political rallies, provides some of the best opportunities for political parties and candidates to make their ideas known and for the electorate to question, argue with, and criticize them in a dynamic, instant feed back situation. (Sreberny-Mohammadi 1990: 46). On the other hand, Ngugi (1995) note that in African countries, newspapers are primarily an urban phenomena, so it is important for politicians to organize political rallies in the rural areas so as to canvass for support. Even though a political rally has not disappeared from the tool kit of the modern political party, it is now regarded as a complement to the media (Darnolf 2000). Assuming that the candidates and political are known to the electorate, the rallies are then transformed into advertising platforms for candidates and political parties. What emerges from this is the fact that a rally should show harmony and togetherness of the people rather than debating important issues (Potter 1996). Darnolf (2000) and Moyo (1992) stress that in the Zimbabwean context rallies are subject to approval by the police and more often the opposition parties are denied such vital opportunities to hold rallies. These political rallies are supposed to be covered by the press; which is also significant during the electioneering period. Seymour-Ure (1974) notes that:. one cannot talk sensibly of a national campaign at all in the absence of mass media. The national campaign is formed by the continuous interaction between the behavior of party leaders and managers and that of the mass media (cited in Negrine 1994: 154).In addition to this, Negrine (1994) quotes Blumler and Gurevitch saying: "[M]odern election campaigns have to a considerable extent become fully and truly television campaigns" (Negrine 1994: 155) and to some extent become a debate in the press. Potter (1996) however, notes that .using the press does not guarantee victory. But not using the press can guarantee defeat. (1996: 319). In light of press usage, Negrine (1996) notes that political campaigns have resulted in the .personalization of politics, and the professionalization of actors in the development of press strategies. (1996: 150), and this explicitly tells us the importance of the press in an election