In
many instances, responsibility for implementing regulations on the media during
election campaigns rests with the main electoral supervisory body itself. This
is often seen as appropriate if the electoral supervisory body has sufficient
guarantees of independence, as well as the expertise to conduct the specialized
work of media regulation.
Malawi,
which held its first democratic elections in 1994, offered a positive example
of an electoral commission in a new democracy that, by an effective show of
independence, was able to ensure that the different political parties and
candidates received a fair share of coverage from the government-controlled
broadcaster. But it was able to do this not only through a display of political
will, but also because it had established a specialized media sub-committee
that had the experience and expertise to deal with the broadcasters.
Using
the electoral supervisory body may be a preferable option in a small country
where a plethora of overlapping institutions is not an attractive or
cost-effective choice. In Barbados, for example, it is the Electoral and
Boundaries Commission, the body with overall responsibility for the election,
which is also responsible for regulating media coverage.
Nicaragua's
1987 Constitution established a Supreme Electoral Council as an independent
branch of government - separate from the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
Its responsibility includes applying the mass media law during elections and
administering a complaints procedure. It established a specialized Mass Media
Department to deal with broadcasters, in particular trying to negotiate changes
in practices that are the subject of complaints.[i]
[i] Guidelines for Election Broadcasting in
Transitional Democracies, (London: ARTICLE 19, 1994), 38
