In the 1994 presidential and parliamentary elections in Malawi, the electoral commission, by general consent, did an excellent job. These were the country's first multi-party elections for 30 years, so none of the Malawians involved in their organization had any previous experience. Yet one of the particular successes of the commission was in organizing media coverage.
The media environment in Malawi at the time was not an easy one. On the one hand the sole broadcaster was the government-controlled Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), accustomed to 30 years of uncritical reporting of presidential functions - and little else besides. On the other hand, the newly flowering private press was independent-minded but inexperienced and unprofessional.
The electoral commission did not hector or chastise the media. It acted as a resource, a trainer and a facilitator. When it did need to criticize media coverage - in particular the bias of the MBC towards the ruling party - it was generally listened to. The commission described its main activities as follows:
- Facilitating training programmes for journalists
- Issuing press releases on various electoral issues
- Organizing press conferences
- Preparing an information handbook on the elections
- Identifying suitable radio programmes for disseminating campaign messages
- Monitoring and managing campaign programmes to ensure equal treatment of all parties and compliance with the electoral code of conduct
- Identifying suitable radio programmes to carry voter education messages
- Establishing and managing press offices for disseminating information to the public
- Managing the broadcasting of the poll results
See also Malawi: Election Reporting Guidelines - Election Commission 1994.
