By George M.O. Williams
The Media Reform Coordinating Group Sierra Leone (MRCG) has said that “There is the ‘politicization’ of the voter registration process as politicians are putting out mixed messages containing information on voter education and campaigning for their political parties.”
The Media Group made the disclosure after having monitored and analyzed the content of print and electronic media Coverage and Reportage on the first phase of the Voter Registration process for the 2023 elections.
MRCG also stated that political parties ‘skew’ and use information to serve their interests and by doing so affecting the voter registration process.
MRCG urged the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) to educate voters more on the registration process, admonished Journalists to be impartial in their coverage and reportage on the voter education exercise; and also encouraged donors to support national media institutions and train reporters on how to monitor the electoral processes.
MRCG also stated that ECSL and the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC) should engage political parties to desist from spreading campaign messages in the ongoing voter education exercise.
It further called on the ECSL to maintain a cordial relationship with the media, and to also address the challenges in the first phase of the voter registration, and implement the recommendation for the second phase.
MRCG also noted that journalists are confronted with the challenge of untimely release of information by ECSL and also with logistical challenges for media institutions to meet the operational costs of covering and reporting on the elections.
“Lack of capacity building for media practitioners to effectively report on the electoral processes; Poor knowledge of use of mobile journalism, mobility, weak internet, faulty phone lines,” MRCG said are also problems facing journalists.