Role of The Media in the Electoral Process

Role of The Media in the Electoral Process
 

INTRODUCTION

It is undoubted that the media play a very critical role in the life of all human societies. The media provide the conduit necessary for all kinds of communication that helps societies exist and function. Contemporary thinking is such that to live in harmony, societies need communication that is beneficial to its constituents.
In modern democratic societies, which entail representative governments, the media play the very essential role of ensuring that information vital to the existence, survival and development of constituents of such societies is availed to them in a timely, equitable, fair and balanced manner.

Thus at election time, when constituents must elect their representatives, it becomes doubly imperative that the media afford them all information necessary for them to make informed choices about whom to elect and whom not to elect into positions of authority.
 

Roles of the media

The media may play several roles in the electoral process including the following:

• Watchdog
• Voter education
• Peace building

Watchdog role

• The media plays the watch dog role when they expose errors of commission or omission by those in power in their pursuit to cling to power at all cost
• The media can alert citizens to electoral malpractices so that these may be rectified
• The media can expose schemes to disadvantage those outside the corridors of power
• The media can expose manipulation of citizens through the distribution of bribes and other illegal niceties during campaign periods

Voter education

• The media can educate citizens through stories that adequately explain the national situation (political, social and economic) so that the citizenry will not only benefit from improved service delivery but will also take part in the development processes of the nation
• The media can explain in simple terms specific legal and administrative issues which can be seen to be fundamental for any election undertaken to be free and fair
• The media can adequately encourage eligible persons to register as voters and to actually cast their ballot when elections are due
• The media can provide a platform for all candidates and their parties to present their manifestos to the public
• The media can expose parties and candidates that instigate or have the propensity to cause violence so that the citizenry may be made alert to any such possibility
• The media can expose practices of vote-buying or illegal party financing to the electorate
• The media can also expose the proliferation of defamation and hate speech in campaigns aimed at influencing nationals negatively
• The media can expose voter intimidation by party workers, corruption in decision-making processes, and the systematic exclusion of certain sectors of society
• The media may strive to expose instances where political parties threaten the functioning of democratic systems rather than support them and thus disenfranchise eligible voters
• The media can strive to explain to the electorate, in clear and simple language, national, regional and universal pieces of legislation and other regulations governing the proper conduct of democratic elections
• The media need to explain to the citizenry the importance of their participative involvement in all aspects of governance systems such as voting
• Journalists should try to focus on the issues, by talking to ordinary people, particularly those lacking a strong voice in society e.g. the elderly and the young, women, the poor, and ethnic and religious minorities
• The media must strive to put citizens’ views to candidates and report their responses back to the citizens so that they know and understand their potential governors
• The media, in its agenda-setting role, can provide diverse view points and unbiased information, offer forum for debate involving citizens and the civil society, mediate in national development projects and contribute to sustainable flow of information.

Peace building and conflict resolution

The media can be a tool for fanning violence and conflict if not properly managed. The use of radio during the Rwandan genocide in 1994 in mobilising the population to participate in violence was a striking example of the power of radio to serve destructive political interests by manipulating hearts and minds.

Fortunately, those events also sparked a reflection by many international and local actors to realize how to harness this power of radio towards more positive aims, notably the promotion of peace and reconciliation.
 

Summary

Elections are the hallmark of representative democracy, allowing the people’s regular input in choices about leaders and policy and yet they are also competitive processes, unleashing conflict and tensions that, if not constructively managed, could potentially destabilize the fabric of states and societies. It is essential, therefore, that the media play an active role in ensuring that such tensions and conflict are minimized or eliminated. The media can do this by sensitizing the electorate and the rest of the citizenry on the proper conduct of elections.