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: the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa (2002), the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2004), the SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport (2001) and the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development (1997)

Determined to create regional principles to guide coverage of elections,
Dedicated to highlighting the duty of all broadcasters, large or small, rich or poor, to contribute to and ensure free, fair and transparent elections in any way they can,

Hereby agree on and adopt the Guidelines and Principles for broadcast coverage of elections in the SADC Region as follows

A. Editorial Guidelines and Principles
Article 1
The aim of election coverage is to ensure that the electorate is empowered to make an informed choice. In light of this, the public is entitled to accurate, fair, impartial and balanced information about the election procedures, and the positions of political parties/independents and/or candidates on issues. Broadcasters are therefore committed to make every effort to present all available and relevant information to the public.

Broadcasters will further ensure that coverage of the elections will be designed to emphasise the relevance of elections and encourage participation by all citizens in the election process.

Article 2
Broadcasters will ensure that they focus on issues of relevance and interest to citizens and not purely cover events of political parties/contestants.

Article 3
Broadcasters will provide opportunities for the public to take part in political debates on election issues. Participants of such broadcasts must be as representative as possible of different views and sectors of society.

Article 4
Broadcasters have the responsibility to treat all political parties/contestants equitably. They shall to this end facilitate fair play.

Equitable treatment does not mean equal treatment nor does it mean that broadcasters will abandon their news values and/or processes. Equitable treatment means fair treatment in both news, current affairs and discussion programmes. Fairness is achieved over time. It is unlikely to be achieved in a single programme. Broadcasters will be consistent in their treatment of political parties/contestants.

Broadcasters will not only rely on political parties/contestants to bring information but will proactively seek out information and participation in discussions.

Article 5
In an election campaign there is a risk of incumbents trying to use their position to advance their election prospect. Broadcasters should regard with caution any statement or action by an official of an incumbent party and need to check thoroughly whether for example public appearances of government officials are strictly on government business or part of their election campaign.


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