Everything
that has been said about the journalists' right of access to election events
and the process of accreditation apply equally to any foreign media who are
present. It is important to stress that this is a matter of principle. The
fundamental sources of the right to freedom of expression - the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights - explicitly define this right as entailing the communication
and receipt of information "regardless of frontier".
In
most instances, there will be foreign correspondents resident in - or at least
accredited to - the country on a long-term basis. Since these journalists will
invariably have some form of accreditation as a condition of their residence in
the country, their further accreditation to cover the election presents little
problem in principle or practice. A problem is more likely to arise if the
election is a matter of some international interest (as elections do tend to
be), with the attendant possibility that large numbers of foreign media staff
will arrive at the last minute expecting to be able to cover it.
Precise
arrangements will need to be coordinated between the body ordinarily
responsible for accrediting foreign media and the organizers of the election.
For immigration reasons, all foreign journalists will need to be accredited,
but as with domestic media personnel, neither the government nor the electoral
administrators should have any discretion to decide who may or may not come to
report the election. Accreditation is an administrative measure, not a means of
keeping people out.
Common
sense suggests that a measure of prior planning is needed, with an assessment
of how many foreign media staff are likely to want to cover the elections. Not
only can accreditation be planned in advance, but also other facilities such as
the necessary telephone and computer links from the media centre.
A
measure of mutual patience and understanding is required. Elections are
organized for the benefit of the electorate, not the international media (a
fact that the latter sometimes need reminding of). Yet international
accountability is part of the process of organizing free and fair elections,
and, to this extent, foreign media play a similar role to that of external
election observers. It is therefore in the interests of democracy and the
election process itself that they are allowed and enabled to do their job.
