Media in tricky situation over lack of code of conduct for politicians

Apr 07, 2015 News

They hurl insults back and forth, the crowd cheering them on as the diatribes pour from their lips. Oftentimes, their speeches are intended to bash their opponents rather than inform the public on policies.
This is a norm during an election year in Guyana and with General and Regional elections just over a month away; politicians are yet to sign a Code of Conduct to monitor their behaviour during the ongoing elections campaign.
Since the main contesting parties, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the coalition party APNU+AFC, have begun their campaign, some politicians have come under fire for controversial statements made during electioneering.
During the launch of the Media Monitoring Unit in February, Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Steve Surujbally, alluded to the need for a code of conduct not just for the media, but also for politicians during the election season.
However, this code of conduct is yet to materialise.
During a recent radio interview on the show, Hard Talk, journalist and Guyana Press Association (GPA) executive member Nazima Raghubir said, that a code of conduct for politicians is usually signed every election. However, she said, if politicians sign this document, they should live up to that code.
She said that the media, in an attempt to be fair, must report on what politicians say during their elections campaign. However, she added, this places media operatives in a tricky situation when the time comes to report inflammatory or controversial statements.
“It’s either you’re selling the story short to the public by not giving them all, but then you’re also caught between ethical lines because you have to be responsible,” Raghubir said.
Imran Khan, Chief Communications Officer for APNU+AFC, was also a part of the interview and noted that some segments of the media would deliberately omit from their reports controversial statements made by politicians.
Khan noted the “kick ass” comment of former president Bharrat Jagdeo at Babu Jaan in early March.
“Some segments of the media did not – and I believe purposefully so – report some of the comments made at Babu Jaan,” Khan said. “That in itself tells you that a judgment was made that this is unacceptable; this is unacceptable language for public use and elections campaigning,” he added.
He further said that media houses are forced to make judgments on whether words coming from many politicians are acceptable for public consumption.
Raghubir and Khan both agreed that regardless of whether Guyana was in an election period or not, politicians should not be given a “free pass” to make libelous or inflammatory statements to the people of Guyana.
However, PPP Parliamentarian, Manzoor Nadir, opined that elections were a “silly season” in which “people will say a number of things; passions will run high”.
Nadir added that at the end of day the electorate would make its displeasure known through voting.
“Politicians understand that they have to conduct themselves in a manner which will ensure that they earn respect; I feel they are doing so,” he said. He continued, “Passions will run high and the electorate will evaluate this. While there are codes of conduct that people sign on to, some people will push the edge.
The bottom line is going to be the voter. And many times the voter tells us strongly in the ballot box that they didn’t like what we were doing.”

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Media in tricky situation over lack of code of conduct for politicians

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