hiding and then fled the country after they were tipped off that police were planning to arrest them on allegations of spying.131 Equal access to the public media Most of those in rural Zimbabwe listen to the radio as their main source of political news. This reinforces the importance of the broadcast media in the run-up to elections. In Zimbabwe all radio and television stations are government controlled. Section 2.1.5 of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections calls on SADC member states to adhere to the principle of: “equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media.”132 Although the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) carried some brief footage of opposition members electioneering133, organizations such as ZESN and MMPZ informed HRW that equal access to the public media was limited.134 A former newspaper editor observed, “There is very little access for opposition candidates to the so-called public media which is partisan and doesn’t provide a platform to those who oppose government…. this prevents the public from making a choice.”135 During Human Rights Watch’s mission in Zimbabwe, MDC members and media organizations reported that the opposition was not being accorded equal access to the state media.136 The government defended through the media the lack of equal access and pointed out that media coverage would only be given to parties contesting the election during election time.137 According to MDC candidates and media organizations interviewed by Human Rights Watch, state radio and television continued their biased coverage of the electoral environment even after the election date was set and the MDC announced it would participate in the elections.138 131 Human Rights Watch researchers were informed of the raid by other independent journalists on 16 February. See also “Journalists forced to flee the country fearing for their safety,” IFEX, February 23, 2005; “Four journalists flee the country”, The Daily News Online, February 23, 2005; “Three journalists flee Zimbabwe,” New York Times online, February 21, 2005 132 SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. 133 Human Rights Watch interview, Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe, February 4, 2005. 134 See MMPZ briefing paper 1, “Media and the 2005 Parliamentary Election” February 16, 2005. 135 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, February 16, 2005. 136 Human Rights Watch interviews Harare, February 2005. 137 The Daily Mirror, January 5, 2005. 138 Human Rights Watch interviews with Dumisani Ghandi and Andy Moyse, MMPZ, Harare, February 2005. 29