Electoral Board, stakeholders discuss on guidelines for election reporting

Addis Ababa, January 18, 2020 (FBC) – The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) held today consultation with stakeholders on guidelines for election reporting.

The guidelines were prepared to raise awareness on how media should contribute their share during electoral campaigning as well as before, during and after election.

It was noted that journalists can do their parts for the peaceful conduct of the upcoming election by giving value for balanced, accurate and truthful news reporting.

The guidelines oblige journalists deployed for election reporting to be independent from political party membership and prohibit them from carrying symbols allocated to a political party.

According to the guidelines, journalists can make predictions before the election. However, it is prohibited to predict during election and until a preliminary results are announced.

Soliana Shimeles, communication advisor at NEBE, told FBC that more inputs were gathered from the meeting to enrich the guidelines.