February
16, 2008 No Rules Binding
Media Coverage of Polls By Muhammad Najeeb
Islamabad
The Pakistani media can begin announcing the results of the general
election Monday evening itself, soon after officials declare them,
as no code of conduct has been prescribed.
"We haven't issued any code of conduct for the media. TV channels
can announce the results but we expect them to be responsible in
their reportage," said Kanwar M. Dilshad, secretary of the Election
Commission.
This is the first time that general elections are being held in the
presence of a vibrant media with more than 65 TV channels and 85 FM
radio stations in the country.
TV channels have made elaborate arrangements for announcement of
results live from polling stations.
"We will be announcing the results as soon as the counting is
complete," Iftikhar Ahmed, head of GEO channel's election cell, told
IANS.
He said more than 2,000 correspondents of GEO and its sister
organisations would be reporting on the election from across the
country.
"We have authorised the returning officers to announce the results
at the polling stations after counting the votes in the presence of
the representatives of the candidates and political parties,"
Dilshad said.
He said the Election Commission is making every effort to facilitate
media organisations.
"Special passes have been issued to journalists and they are allowed
to visit the polling stations and see the process," said Dilshad,
adding that international observers have also been facilitated.
More than 500 journalists, including 46 from India, have been
registered with the external publicity wing of the information
ministry whereas the same number of observers from the US, European
Union and other international organisations are in Pakistan to cover
the election.
Dilshad said: "We expect that the observers and media persons will
not create any problem for the election staff by unnecessarily
questioning them."
He advised the media and observers to "monitor and report" instead
of arguing with the election staff.
It is for the first time that domestic observers are monitoring the
elections in Pakistan. The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN),
established with the help of The Asia Foundation and the UN
Development Programme (UNDP), has sent 20,000 observers.
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