The media contribute to
monitoring the electoral process by keeping the public informed about electoral
processes and the political campaign. The media also play an
investigative role in helping to detect and expose electoral fraud and
corruption.
Conditions Required for Media
Effectiveness
Several conditions are
generally recognized as being critical for the media to serve as an effective
integrity mechanism. They must have access to the electoral process and its
participants. They must have a safe environment enabling them to investigate
and report news without intimidation or fear of retribution and be
able to publish their reports without censorship. Specifically, the media require:
- Freedom of speech and of the press: The media must be free to cover and report on
election events without restriction or censorship. Anti-defamation laws should
not be used to threaten journalists and force them to limit their coverage.
- Protection from intimidation and violence: The media must be able to investigate and
report stories without intimidation or fear of violence.
- Freedom of movement: Journalists must be
able to travel freely throughout the country in order to follow candidates’ national campaigns and check how
election administration is operating throughout the country, including in
outlying areas.
- Access: Journalists must have
access to election officers, electoral sites, candidates and voters. They
must have access to government information in order to investigate and
ensure that their work is accurate.
- Equal treatment: The media should be
treated equally, whether they are privately owned or government-controlled,
and without reference to whatever political inclination they may reflect.
Equal treatment is needed in access to persons, electoral sites,
information, access to publishing resources, as well as regarding State
authorizations, including concerning licensing and broadcasting.
Media
Protection and Oversight
The media have gained a degree
of protection similar to national monitors. For example, the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has appointed a Representative on
Freedom of the Media. The Representative observes the state of media freedom in
all 55 OSCE member countries, and promotes compliance with OSCE principles and
commitments concerning freedom of expression and media freedom. Some NGOs also focus
on protection of journalists.
National and international
observers also monitor press freedom and the accuracy of election reporting. In
the first and second rounds of the 2004 presidential election in Ukraine,
for example, monitors found that government officials had limited the media’s
ability to report certain issues and events. The result was biased media
coverage favouring the presidential candidate of the ruling party. It was only
in the second runoff election, after challenges before the Supreme Court
regarding the validity of earlier election results, that according to the
observers, censorship was discontinued and media coverage became more balanced.[1]
Impact
on Election Integrity
Good media coverage of the
electoral process is helpful in many ways:
- By increasing
transparency, which helps deter fraud and abuse in the electoral process:
Transparency also helps to improve the process itself, since
inconsistencies, problems or other deficiencies are identified and
publicized, causing electoral administrators and policy makers to address them.
(In India,
for instance, the media are encouraged to cover elections as a way of
helping to ensure transparency. The Election Commission of India provides
the media with the facilities needed to cover the electoral process, and
distributes passes allowing journalists to enter polling stations and vote
counting stations.)
- By making the public more
knowledgeable and better informed about elections, candidates and current
issues: Election coverage in the press and its commentary on candidate
platforms helps provide voters with the information they need to make an
informed choice on election day. Press coverage also informs voters about electoral
matters, including the date of the election, voting hours and polling and
registration locations. And,
- By exposing fraudulent or
questionable conduct: The media act as an integrity watchdog, uncovering
fraud and corruption. This helps to ensure that those responsible are held
accountable for their actions. It also helps to deter those who might be
tempted to behave in an unethical or illegal manner.
[1] OSCE/ODIHR, Ukraine, Presidential
Election: 31 October, 21 November and 26 December 2004: OSCE/ODIHR Election
Observation Mission Final Report (Warsaw,
May 2005)
