The Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Madam Charlotte Osei has advised journalists to be mindful of the stories they write, arguing that the duty of a journalist is to ensure that elections are not just about the political parties and their candidates but the future of this nation.
In her words whatever stories journalists put out could affect the health of the country. She also said the EC is willing to open its doors to the media. Well said Madam Charlotte Osei!
Madam Chairman, move beyond the talk and act because even the political parties have had issues of transparency with the EC. Not long ago we heard the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) asking the Electoral Commission to be transparent in their dealings so the public will get to know what they are doing and know what is going on within the EC. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) for instance has raised concerns that they wrote a letter to the Electoral Commission when they saw an advertisement for electronic transmission of results but the EC failed to respond.
It is one thing to say you are prepared to work with the media and another thing to be actually working with the media. Thomas Jefferson said information flow is the currency of democracy. What we need most is to know what is happening within the EC and in this country so if the EC is not forthcoming with information then you leave people to speculate at the end of the day. The fact that we are taught in journalism school to be fair to both sides when reporting doesn’t mean that a journalist cannot publish a story if one side doesn’t respond. So the EC must bear in mind that opening your doors to the media means you must be transparent and also let information flow.
Again most of the information from the EC seems to be centralized. Mr. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofu of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on “ Eye On The Seat’’ a political program on TV3 said the EC should concentrate on ensuring that they have a public relation personnel in various regions and the districts who would be able to articulate the positions of the EC and this is very important because journalists must have access to information.
By Winston Amoah
The writer is the host of 3FM‘s Sunrise. Write-up was first broadcast on the station.