Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).

Maputo — The European Union election observation mission, which observed the 16 October general elections in Mozambique, has accused the publicly owned television channel TVM, and the pro-government daily “Noticias” of serious bias in their coverage.

The final report from the EU mission carries an analysis of press coverage of the election campaign, concluding that TVM’s reporting on the campaign was “clearly tendentious” in favour of the presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Nyusi. 64 per cent of TVM’s presidential campaign coverage was devoted to Nyusi, 19 per cent to Daviz Simango, candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and 17 per cent to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo.

The TVM coverage of the political parties was also unbalanced – 56 per cent of the time went to Frelimo, 22 per cent to Renamo, 17 per cent to the MDM and five per cent to minor parties.

The imbalance was truly startling when it came to TVM panel discussions – overwhelmingly the guests TVM chose to invite were pro-Frelimo, and hostile to both opposition parties. The EU Mission report divided the tone used in these talk shows into positive, negative and neutral. It found that all the mentions of Nyusi were positive, while nothing positive was said about the other two candidates.

80 per cent of the mentions of Dhlakama in these programmes were negative and 20 per cent neutral. For Simango, the TVM panels were unrelentingly hostile, with 100 per cent negative mentions.

As for “Noticias”, the EU report found that 60 per cent of its presidential coverage went to Nyusi, 23 per cent to Dhlakama and 17 per cent to Simango. For the parties, 60 per cent of the coverage went to Frelimo, 14 per cent to the MDM, 12 per cent to Renamo and an astounding 14 per cent to the gaggle of 27 minor parties most of whom ran no campaign at all.

The report found Radio Mozambique and the main independent media group, SOICO, much fairer in their coverage. Thus in the presidential campaign, 39 per cent of the Radio’s coverage went to Nyusi, 33 per cent to Dhlakama and 28 per cent to Simango. But Nyusi was always the first candidate mentioned in the radio newscasts.

The EU mission thought that the radio’s coverage of the parties was also “reasonably balanced” – although Frelimo took 47 per cent of the time, compared with 23 per cent each for Renamo and the MDM and seven per cent for others.

The SOICO television channel, STV, was clearly making a serious attempt at balance.

The Report found that 41 per cent of its presidential campaign coverage went to Nyusi, 32 per cent to Simango and 27 per cent to Dhlakama. As for the parties, STV gave 37 per cent of the time to Frelimo, 33 per cent to Renamo, 28 per cent to the MDM and two per cent to the minor parties.

The coverage by the SOICO daily paper, “O Pais”, came close to equality between the three presidential candidates: Simango received somewhat more coverage than either of his opponents, with 37 per cent, compared to 33 per cent for Nyusi and 30 per cent for Dhlakama.

As for the parties, “O Pais” gave 39 per cent to Renamo, 38 per cent to Frelimo, 16 per cent to the MDM, and seven per cent to the most serious of the minor parties, the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).