The Media Foundation for West Africa(MFWA) in partnership with the electoral Commission of Ghana has organized a training program for media practitioners aimed at educating them on fact-based reporting to prepare them to provide accurate information on elections .
The training took place on 3rd October 2024 in Accra with forty media personnel from various media houses in greater Accra.
In a presentation at the event which brought together about forty media practitioners, Director of electoral services, Benjamin Bano Bio, described Elections as one of the pillars of democracy which has become a commonly accepted means of legitimizing governance institutions. However, a flawed election could trigger violence and insecurity in the country.
Besides, he said elections in Ghana have always been characterized by Tensions, Suspicion, and Mistrust.” Tensions leading to confrontations which threaten stability often rises during the planning of elections, while conducting elections and after election results have been declared” he stated
Moreover, Benjamin Bano Bio revealed that managing electoral processes involves key stakeholders in order to raise the credibility and acceptance of election outcomes, to reduce the risk of violent conflict “A democratic election is impossible without the media; since they are essential to democracy”
According to him media practitioners have critical roles to play throughout the 2024 electoral process. “In addition to promoting public debate and educating citizens, they will monitor the level of integrity of the electoral processes and inform citizens accordingly” he disclosed
Mr. Bano Bio further encouraged journalists to use their medium to support the electoral commission in its investigations into issues and allegations by politicians before publishing them .He further advised journalists to use their platforms to promote decent campaign language, information hygiene, and resilient community and avoid misinformation and disinformation.