Officials of the faction of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai have complained that the formation has been unfairly treated by elements of the media amidst divisions over the leadership of its women's wing.
One Tsvangirai MDC faction official spoke of a "total onslaught in the media” - but observers said divisions within the faction were not fabricated by journalists.
Faction policy coordinator Eddie Cross said in an e-mailed circulated Tuesday that the image of the MDC in the media is “driven by a variety of political interests who are all committed to ensuring that the MDC does not win the next election”.
Faction spokesman Nelson Chamisa told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the party is not blaming the media for its problems, but is concerned that certain issues have been distorted or blown out of proportion.
Advocacy Coordinator Abel Chikomo of the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe said that while state media have not been objective in their reporting on the trouble in the faction, the general picture drawn by the media indicates all is not well there.