NEC urges ‘neutral’ media for Senate election
THE National Election Committee (NEC) urges the media and local and international NGOs to actively promote political parties’ policies with fairness and neutrality during the upcoming Senate election campaign.
NEC deputy secretary-general Mok Dara conveyed this message in a recent meeting with representatives from radio and television stations, media associations and NGOs.
In a press release, Dara called on stakeholders to disseminate political parties’ policies in line with election laws, regulations, procedures, NEC principles and ethical standards.
“Ensuring a smooth, orderly, secure and safe election process that aligns with the principles of multiparty democracy requires adherence to the procedures and principles set by the NEC,” he said.
Dara added that the sale or lease of radio and television broadcast times to political parties shall be fair, equal and follow a clear order of precedence. Stations are required to publicly announce the available hours and prices for all participating political parties in the 5th Senate election, refraining
from selling exclusive airtime to any specific party.
The statement noted that in selling airtime, stations should divide the total hours available for sale by the number of political parties participating in the election. This calculation determines the allocated minutes or hours to be sold to each party.
If a limited number of parties or a single party buys radio airtime, stations may sell it to the financially capable
party for up to twice the entitled period.
Those intending to produce Q&A programmes or discussions on parties’ policies for broadcast during the election campaign can proceed without needing a letter of approval from the NEC.
“Associations, NGOs and the media can also consult with the NEC coordinating committee for assistance with technical aspects in preparing their broadcasts. This
includes topics or questions for political parties, coordination of meeting places and addressing security and safety concerns,” the NEC said.
“These entities bear legal responsibility for the content of the Q&A programmes or discussions they disseminate. Producers and moderators of these broadcasts must maintain a neutral and fair stance,” Dara said.
Yang Kim Eng, president of the People Centre for Development
and Peace, said that generally, the NEC procedures for preparing the Senate election are not different from those for the National Assembly (NA) election. Regarding the scheduling of hours to disseminate the platforms or policies of political parties, the NEC consistently follows the same approach.
“What matters is the NEC taking action against those who violate its principles. In the past, we’d observed online media and radio stations using threatening or inciting language and attacking political parties without any consequential action,” he said.
Kim Eng anticipates that the upcoming Senate election will pose no issues. It is a predictable election with only commune-town-district councils and NA lawmakers as voters, and the policy publicity is not expected to garner much attention.
“Still, the NEC’s procedures play a vital role in ensuring fairness among parties and groups engaging with the media. It’s essential that they adhere to the principles set by the NEC,” he said.
The Senate election campaign is scheduled from February 10-23, with the election day set for Sunday, February 25.