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Hybrid Media System and the July 2018 Elections in “Post-Mugabe” Zimbabwe

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Social Media and Elections in Africa, Volume 1

Abstract

This chapter investigates how, why and for what purposes political actors and citizens in Zimbabwe used traditional and digital media, especially Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, before, during and after the 30 July 2018 elections. Relying on a combination of virtual ethnography and in-depth interviews, this chapter provides new evidence of the sophisticated appropriation of the hybrid media system in a context where over 60 percent of the electorate was made up of youthful voters. Building on Mare’s (2018) previous research on Facebook and electoral campaigns in Zimbabwe, this chapter cautions against the reification of digital media as the “silver bullet” with transformative power to democratize and transform toxic electoral politics in Zimbabwe.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In November 2017, the military staged a “soft coup” that forced Robert Mugabe to step down, paving the way for the ascendency of Emmerson Mnangagwa to the position of President.

  2. 2.

    It denotes “the context in which communication processes occur” (Hearn & Foth, 2007, p. 9). This approach is concerned with the various types of media or communication spaces and tools which are available to communities and that people use in a specific geographical area (Tacchi, Slater, & Hearn, 2013). As Hearn and Foth (2007) put it, there are various layers, which constitute media ecologies: discursive (themes or content of both mediated and unmediated communication), technological (ICTs , TV, radio) and social (community meetings, informal networks, institutions). Far from being disconnected, these layers are intricately interrelated and mutually constitutive.

  3. 3.

    Myzimbabwe.co.zw (14 June 2018). 23 candidates to contest Zimbabwe’s 2018 watershed presidential elections. Retrieved from https://www.myzimbabwe.co.zw/news/25979-updated-23-candidates-to-contest-zimbabwes-2018-watershed-presidential-elections-see-final-list.html

  4. 4.

    The Independent (1 July 2018). Independent candidates expose fissures in parties. Retrieved from https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2018/07/01/independent-candidates-expose-fissures-in-parties/

  5. 5.

    EU EOM Zimbabwe Harmonised Elections 2018 Final Report. October 2018. https://cdn5-eeas.fpfis.tech.ec.europa.eu/cdn/farfuture/4oA6Nz1VZuz_CU9oHsm1dkLdmSSO-jhl8H_altt88n0/mtime:1539116530/sites/eeas/files/eu_eom_zimbabwe_2018_-_final_report.pdf

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia

    Admire Mare

  2. University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Admire Mare

  3. Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

    Trust Matsilele

Authors
  1. Admire Mare
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  2. Trust Matsilele
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Admire Mare .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway

    Martin N. Ndlela

  2. University of Westminster, Harrow Campus, London, UK

    Winston Mano

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Mare, A., Matsilele, T. (2020). Hybrid Media System and the July 2018 Elections in “Post-Mugabe” Zimbabwe. In: Ndlela, M., Mano, W. (eds) Social Media and Elections in Africa, Volume 1. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30553-6_8

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