Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the current media freedoms in Zimbabwe on free and fair elections; and if he will make a statement.

We welcome some recent opening up of the media in Zimbabwe. However, we remain concerned about the partisan nature of the state broadcasters in Zimbabwe in the run up to the election. It is important that state media, in line with the Zimbabwe constitution, is impartial and allows access for all political parties.