ARE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES POSITIVELY INFLUENCING DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION? EVIDENCE FROM THE 2008 ELECTIONS IN ZIMBABWE

Bruce Mutsvairo

doi:10.5789/7-2-140

Abstract

This research is a case study analysis of the 2008 national elections in Zimbabwe. The elections are considered crucial in the history of the country because long-time President Robert Mugabe suffered an unprecedented defeat at the hands of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the first of the two rounds of voting. This study presupposes the view that as digital technologies become more accessible and affordable, more people are able to easily coordinate, organise and advance their interests. It aims to critically examine the overall role played by the Internet in propelling democratic reforms in Zimbabwe, specifically focusing on its role during the 2008 elections. The major question in the research pertains to the assumed use of new media technologies by Zimbabwean exiles to channel pro-opposition information into the country, effectively leading to President Mugabe’s losing.

Highlights

This paper seeks to answer two key questions: Did the Internet in broad terms, and online news media play a role in Mugabe's election loss to Morgan Tsvangirai, and if so, to what extent, how and with what impact? in what way and with what success and potentiality is the Internet influencing and enhancing democratic reforms in Zimbabwe? The research focuses on the first round of voting won by Tsvangirai – and not the run-off of 27 June 2008, which Badza (2009) dismisses as "inexcusably flawed and discredited, by the West" (p. 149)
The study’s initial hypothesis was based on the notion that, facing a grim future because of a struggling economy back home and angry that Mugabe had denied them the right to vote, Zimbabweans abroad hammered friends and relatives with anti-Mugabe messages. It is in this context that this research is dedicated to proving or disproving the contention that the largely Britain-based community of Zimbabweans, deliberately or not, used the Internet as a media tool to discredit the Mugabe government and encouraged relatives back home to vote for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
The introduction of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) powered principally by the ever-increasing use of Internet and mobile phone networks and based on their perceptible potential provides an excellent opportunity for changing the operations of political landscapes in Africa and beyond

Summary

Introduction

This paper seeks to answer two key questions: Did the Internet in broad terms, and online news media play a role in Mugabe's election loss to Morgan Tsvangirai, and if so, to what extent, how and with what impact? in what way and with what success and potentiality is the Internet influencing and enhancing democratic reforms in Zimbabwe? The research focuses on the first round of voting won by Tsvangirai – and not the run-off of 27 June 2008, which Badza (2009) dismisses as "inexcusably flawed and discredited, by the West" (p. 149). It is in this context that this research is dedicated to proving or disproving the contention that the largely Britain-based community of Zimbabweans, deliberately or not, used the Internet as a media tool to discredit the Mugabe government and encouraged relatives back home to vote for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Results

Conclusion