A thorough understanding of the laws governing elections is a precondition of both planning and reporting elections.

Senior editors and executives involved in planning coverage will need to know what their legal obligations are. What, for example, are they obliged or permitted to run in the way of paid or free political advertising? How can broadcasting schedules be arranged to accommodate these requirements? What rates can be charged for advertising?

Are there any laws or regulations relating to the content of either direct access programming or news coverage? If so, what systems can the media house put in place to meet its obligations?

Are there reporting restrictions at any particular moment in the campaign or on polling day? What access will journalists have to the count and are there any restrictions on reporting results?

Editorial planners will need answers to all these questions and more. In some cases – those that involve reporting – ordinary journalists will need this information too.

There is, however, another sense in which journalists need to be familiar with the law on elections. If they are to report accurately – and especially if they are to try to hold election administrators to account – they need to know exactly how the system is meant to work. If this seems obvious, the reality is too often that reporters simply do not understand the basic functioning of the electoral system. They are unable too analyse whether the delimitation of electoral boundaries has been carried out fairly, because they are unaware of the criteria by which these are delimited. They do not know whether there is adequate security for ballot boxes, because they do not know what the law prescribes on this issue.

To a large degree these issues can be addressed through training. A good training programme will certainly cover at least the rudiments of election law. However, it is unlikely that a single training workshop can answer all questions that might arise on legal matters. Editorial managers will need to ensure that reference material is available for all reporters – preferably in the form of a customized manual on electoral law. Collaboration with the EMB to produce such information would be in the interests of all concerned.