DEMOCRACY AND ELECTORAL STUDIES PROGRAM in partnership with the Fiji Electoral Commission / Elections Office and the Fiji Media Council
Saturdays October 15th, 22nd, 29th & 5th November
Tanoa Plaza Conference Room, Suva
For many people, an election is a crucial decision about the future. If the election goes well, the country can continue towards democracy and peace. But if the election goes badly, it can undermine democracy and turn the country back towards conflict. In this modern age, the media is one of the most powerful influences on how an election runs inside the country, and how it is perceived from outside.
For an election to go well, it must be free and fair.
There must be free speech so all citizens and all political candidates can speak without fear. The media must be free to tell everyone what was said without pressure to twist the truth. That is the job of professional journalists - to fully inform citizens of the issues and their choices so they can decide for themselves for whom to vote.
Also, the election must be fair. There must be rules to ensure every citizen has a secret vote. All candidates must have equal rights and opportunities to campaign without interference. The rules must be enforced fairly and everyone must respect the results of the vote.
Elections are a great challenge for the media. Journalists need to know the election rules. They must report fairly on all candidates, parties and issues despite ethnic, religious, ideological values of their own. The media should be the voice of the voters. Journalists must adhere to professional standards of accuracy, impartiality and responsibility. And they have to work amidst great excitement, under pressure from powerful interests, and with very little time.
This workshop offers journalists basic preparation for meeting these challenges. It is designed for Fiji, where democracy is fragile but discussions on it growing in currency. Every country has different election rules and campaign issues as does Fiji, but there are some worldwide standards for an election to be considered free and fair. There are rights and responsibilities every professional journalist should know. There are also skills journalists can use to help voters become better informed.
It is hoped the workshop will also allow for a strengthening in the relationship between the media and the Fiji Elections Office and the Fiji Electoral Commission.
Election management is concerned with establishing a team, a plan, and procedures that will ensure that the electoral process is successfully run within budget and in compliance with the law.
The management of the electoral process influences the way in which the rest of the world views a country's commitment to democracy and, more importantly, the extent to which a country's voters accord legitimacy to their government. The level of responsibility that rests with election administrators and their staff is, therefore, quite great and to be taken on only with great personal commitment.
Some of the key principles that election managers are guided by include communication, accountability, transparency, professionalism, impartiality, and the concept of service to voters and other participants in the process. The challenges ahead are great and all stakeholders face an enormous task.
In the introduction to his book Direito Eleitoral Positivo, Torquato Jardim, a former member of Brazil's electoral tribunal, wrote: "In the democratic state under the rule of law, based on a system of civil liberties which condition the actions of the state, rare is the function of the state that, performed incorrectly or insufficiently, can injure so many, so deeply, as that of administering the electoral process."
Enabling the people to decide and helping towards a truly free and fair process- that is the intention of the workshop.
(Source : IMPAC)
