KABUL (Pajhwok): The current coverage of the election campaign, candidate access to media, the accuracy of information and other issues have come up for discussion at a roundtable in Kabul.
Violence, media’s legal obligations and ethics, further editorial challenges facing the closing of the campaign, the silent period, counting and complaints period were also discussed at the event.
The EU-funded European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES), through the Project in Support of Enhanced Sustainability and Electoral Integrity in Afghanistan (PROSES), arranged the discussion.
Media stakeholders, who took part in the discussion, included directors/heads of news of major radio stations, television channels, print and online media outlets
Ariana News, Killid Radio, Pajhwok Afghan News, Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA), Salam Watandar Radio, Shamshad TV, Tolo News and 8am Daily News) representatives were among the participants.
The Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) spokesperson, chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC Journalists (CPAWJ) directors were also in attendance.
An ECES/PROSES electoral expert gave a keynote presentation on electoral integrity and the importance of media as a champion to promote more credible and transparent elections.
The European Center for Electoral Support (ECES) is a non-profit private foundation headquartered in Brussels, with a global remit. It promotes sustainable democratic development through the provision of advisory services, operational support and management of large projects.
ECES has been operating in Afghanistan since last July the fully EU-funded project PROSES (Project in Support of Enhanced Sustainability and Electoral Integrity).
This 18-month technical assistance project is supporting the 2018 parliamentary elections through a series of ongoing training and capacity-building activities focused on democracy and election stakeholders, including civil society organisations and the media.
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