By Iddi Yire
Accra, Oct. 11, GNA – The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in collaboration with the Electoral Commission (EC) has organised a day’s workshop for media professionals to enhance their capacity for fact-based reporting and countering election-related mis and disinformation.
The project is being organised by MFWA with funding support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom.
Mr Samuel Dottoh, the Deputy Director for Electoral Services, EC, in his presentation lauded the media’s role in the nation’s electoral processes.
“We know the traditional role of the media is to educate, inform and entertain, but an electoral management body (EMB) cannot successfully conduct an election without the media playing an important role of informing the electorate about the processes that they have to go through,” he stated.
“So, EC is expected to inform the media, organise workshops like what the Media Foundation has done for us in collaboration with the Electoral Commission”.
He reiterated that the EC was supposed to organise workshops and seminars for media professionals and hold interactions with the morning show hosts on radio and television, to let the citizens know about the electoral processes.
Again, media practitioners must themselves understand the processes in order to be able to inform and educate the public accordingly.
Mr Dottoh said the EC expected the media to inform the public on electoral processes; such as the voter registration, voter register exhibition, filing of nominations, how to vote, vote counting, collation of votes and declaration of elections results.
He reiterated that it was important for the media to inform the public about the duties of an electoral officer and reminded journalists to get their accreditations from the EC before they go to the polling stations to provide coverage for the elections.
Mr Benjamin Bano-Bio, the Director for Electoral Services, EC, in his presentation, said elections were one of the main pillars of democracy, which had become a commonly accepted means of legitimising governance institutions, and that a flawed election could trigger violence and insecurity in a country.
Dr Kojo Imprain, the Director, Media for Peace and Sustainable Development, MFWA, in his welcome remarks, said the Foundation’s regional engagements would offer a platform to the EC to engage with journalists and explain to them, the ongoing processes for the Election 2024 to enhance fact-based media reporting and programming.
GNA