• The media should ensure fair and equitable representation of women contesting in elections to counter the perennial trend of male dominance in election reporting. • ZEC Media Monitoring Committee should consistently give updates of its assessment of the media’s performance and regularly engage them to take corrective action as opposed to producing a report on its findings after the elections. Timely updates will go a long way in fostering professional coverage of the elections in a fair, balanced and accurate manner. • The Zimbabwe Media Practitioners Bill should be crafted and guided by the unequivocal resolutions and affirmations of stakeholders in line with the form and nature of the guiding principles for co-regulation. • Laws such as the Censorship and Entertainment Controls Act, Official Secrets Act, sections of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, and Interception of Communications Act, among others, should be reviewed and aligned with the Constitution. • The Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill should be benchmarked and gazetted in line with the African Charter on Broadcasting through regulatory frameworks that secure the independence of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) as a public broadcaster while stimulating the growth and sustainability of the broadcasting industry. • Media stakeholders and the media ecosystem commit to a pledge to uphold the highest ethical standards during the election cycle and beyond. CONCLUSION MISA Zimbabwe implores political parties, through their manifestoes and 2023 election campaigns to articulate their positions on the media law reform agenda and commit themselves to ensuring the safety and security of journalists. MISA Zimbabwe is of the firm view that this will go a long way in entrenching the country’s constitutional democracy, protection and enjoyment of fundamental rights. ZIMBABWE 2023 ELECTIONS AND BEYOND: MEDIA REGULATION, JOURNALISM SAFETY AND SECURITY 9