New Media and Elections in Africa: An African perspective

Discussions of new media have often underplayed the African continent. Scholars have developed theories about how digital technology affects democracy and political processes, however, these theories have a tendency to exclude the experience of Sub-Saharan Africa, where meaningful access to new media technologies is increasing.

On 11 & 12 October 2010, I attended two-day conference on Media and Elections in Africa, hosted by the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) and the Department of Political Studies at Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference was well attended by speakers and audiences from many parts of the African region, hence making the conference a platform for debate in a truly African context

Although the focus of the conference was on ‘Media’ in general, I choose to highlight only those papers that had a focus on new media and its respective technological tools. Such discussions sought to discuss whether the use of these new digital tools is actually improving African political structures, systems and processes, in particular elections. The papers cited below examined the impact of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the societies and politics of African countries.

Dumisani Moyo of media and elections in Africa in his paper ‘The New Media as Monitors of Democracy: Mobile Phones and Zimbabwe’s 2008 Election’ argues that the advent of new communications technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones has ushered in a new era of political communication in Zimbabwe where citizens actively participate both in the election campaign and monitoring processes. He looks at these new innovations and their entry into the field of political communication, focusing particularly on the convergence of mobile phones (in particular the SMS or short message service), the Internet and clandestine radio during Zimbabwe’s contested 2008 election. He concludes that these new forms of communication are fast eroding the monopoly of incumbent governments over the communications landscape. Therefore undercutting the liberation discourse that has had a stranglehold on election processes, and signaling the possibility of more open political spaces where divergent views can co-exist.

Joyce Omwoha of Wits University interrogated two Kenyan vernacular radio stations namely, Coro FM which is run in Luo language and Kass FM which is run in the Kalenjin. Her paper was titled, ‘The Power of Talk: Interrogating Vernacular Talk Radio as a Tool for Political Manipulation in Kenya.’ She contends that the two vernacular radio stations were particularly accused of encouraging division between various ethnic communities such as kikuyus, Embus and Merus (who were in favor of the incumbent President Kibaki’s reforms) and Luos, Kalenjins and Luhyas (who opposed Kibaki and mainly supported the opposition). She further reckoned that Kass FM, and Coro FM, through the content they disseminated in the air waves, actually did influenced increased expression within and by the numerous ethnic groups in Kenya. She argues that the way in which political leaders were represented by these talk radio stations during the election period enhanced the political-tribal-tensions and politics of identity that is typical in Kenya. That the identification of politicians was peculiarly through their belonging to a particular ethnic community more than what their politics was really about.

Jendele Hungbo of Wits University also espouses on the issue of representation and identity politics through the case study of South Africa. He claims that the questions of representation and identity politics always become more noticeable in talk shows during elections in transitional democracies. Drawing on material from two radio talk shows, ‘The After Eight Debate’ (SAFM) and ‘The Redi Direko Show’ (Talk Radio 702), his paper, ‘Talking to the Polls: Election Discourses in Two Radio Talk Shows in Post-Apartheid South Africa’ attempts to show the ways in which identity politics are re-enacted on radio among different socio-political groups in a context of grave political contestations arising from the peculiar historical realities of the country. While bringing out the dynamics of these contestations and negotiation of identity, he concludes that discourses in the public domain constituted by radio talk shows during crucial media moments like elections, should be viewed as useful political messages aimed at constructing identities for the mobilization of citizens towards specific objectives.

While new media technologies, as showcased above, may have a role in African democratic processes and elections, their potential must be questioned in light of the continent's economic, political and cultural realities. Further research is necessary if we wish to make any conclusions on whether new media technologies can actually mobilise for political change in Africa.

Chinta Musundi – Beez