ZEC. Bars Journalits From The Private Media

BULAWAYO

The impartiality of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) was in doubt on Tuesday, when officials from the body barred journalists from the private media from attending an election-reporting workshop.

The one-day training workshop, held at the Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel, was titled The Role of the Media during Elections and was led by Kenya-born Ngugi wa Mirii.

It was attended by 15 journalists from the State media, including reporters from The Chronicle, Sunday News, New Ziana and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).

However, when journalists from The Zimbabwean and The Standard attempted to attend, ZEC officials said they were not welcome because the publications had been writing negative stories about the Commission's preparations for the March 29 elections.

State journalists who attended the workshop said wa Mirii had urged attendees to be patriotic towards the Robert Mugabe-led Government.

He also said the Zimbabwean private media falsely claim that there is no press freedom to seek foreign funding, among other incentives, from the western world, said one journalist.

The ZEC was instrumental in shutting down five independent newspapers over the past three years, including the Daily News and the Daily News on Sunday.

Last week, The Zimbawean reported that ZEC voter educators, wearing Commission jackets, were touring the Queenspark Suburb of Bulawayo telling to vote wisely by voting for President Mugabe.

No comment could be obtained from ZEC spokesperson Shupikai Mashereni.