The Ghanaian media have been urged to only announce certified results from the Electoral Commission(EC) so as to forestall the tension and apprehension that occurs with conflicting reports in election years.
Addressing a two-day media and security services workshop at the police depot in Kumasi, Executive Director for African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), Madam Edna Kuma advised the media to stay off speculation and rumor peddling since any false information could have far reaching consequences for the country.
Rather than seeking to declare the outcome of the polls, Madam Kuma stressed the need for the media to effective collaborate with the EC so as to have access to certified results.
According to the AWLA Boss, it was better for the media to get accurate and certified results from the EC than to dabble in the churning out of false and fictitious results.
ROLE:
Madam Kuma noted the crucial role the media played in the socio-economic life of the country, stressing they mirrored what goes on in government to the citizenry and vice versa.
In election years, the AWLA Boss intimated the importance of having an unbiased media and the propagation of decent speech.
According to her, a foul word spoken on radio or on television had the potential of turning the country upside down since people become passionate about the ideologies or political parties they follow in election seasons.
She, therefore, called for circumspection on the part of the media and requested that the ethics of the profession is used to tame or to self-regulate.
LAWS:
On her part, Madam Effibah Amihere, Executive Secretary for AWLA and a legal practitioner encouraged the media to consciously study the law and Acts governing the conduct of the EC and elections in the country.
According to her, a well informed media was a catalyst to ensuring that the requisite electoral bodies and stakeholders play to the terms of their own functions as set out by law.
She, however, maintained the EC was the only constitutional body to handle electoral processes of the country.
Madam Amihere, therefore, tasked election stakeholders including the media to allow the EC to be the final authority in the interpretation of electoral laws while collaborating with them to ensuring peaceful polls every election year.
