Initial Report of Media Coverage Reveals PGC Campaigning Dominated Official Media [Archives:2001/08/Reportage]

The Forum For Civil Society (FFCS) issued on 16 February a press statement containing a preliminary report on results of the program monitoring Electoral Information concerning the elections of local councils and referendum on the constitution on Feb. 20, 2001.
The statement says that FFCS, a non-governmental, non-profitable organization, has been monitoring official information media (Television and Broadcasting stations) since the beginning of February 2001 and will continue to to so until the end of the official period specified for the election campaign for the local elections and the referendum.
FFCS sees that the preliminary results of its monitoring program on electoral information by official media, show that official and electronic information media have not taken a neutral stand regarding election campaigns pertaining to local council elections and the referendum.
They also see that they have not secured equal opportunities for politicians competing in the local elections and constitutional amendments referendum. The official media has not provided opportunities for reviewing various viewpoints on the constitutional amendments in addition to not allotting enough time for electoral awareness in general, and awareness related to the amendments in particular.
All this violates justice of the local elections and referendum process as well as the soundness of the measures of each.
This constitutes a violation of the principle of equality in providing opportunities for all political competitors and points to the using of the official media in favor of the ruling party the General People’s Congress (PGC) with one viewpoint that represents an encroachment upon the citizens rights to obtain the required various information about their candidates for both elections and referendum, a matter that would weaken outcomes and the legitimacy of both activities. FFCS, therefore calls upon official media to be aware of that and rectify what they can during the remaining time until polling day. It also urges the elections supreme committee to carry out its legally stipulated tasks and to supervise official media in a manner realizing equal opportunities and equality among all politicians running for local elections and in the referendum.
Though the forum will prepare its final report to be supported with figures and graphs and analyzes after the end of elections and referendum on constitutional amendments, the primary results of the monitoring process on electoral information have revealed the following facts:
1- During the period extending from beginning of February till the 9th , 2001 it has been evident that out of the total general transmission time of official television and broadcasting stations of all governorates, only 12% was devoted to covering local elections and referendum.
2- Propaganda campaigns for the referendum have had only 5% of the total available time, indirect propaganda for local elections 17%, while electoral awareness for the referendum was 15% and electoral awareness got 63% of the total time provided by official media for covering activities of local elections and referendum.
3- Opportunity have not been made available to all political parties and independents to use official media for direct electoral campaigns for local elections. The decision issued by the elections supreme committee on banning the use of official media for electoral campaign by the political parties and independent candidates did not succeed. The official media has been used for indirect electoral propaganda in favor of one party (PGC) while the share of other political parties and independent candidates of the available time has been zero. Neutral news on local elections has been 11% of the time specified for electoral campaign for local elections.
4- Out of the total time given to programs on the electoral campaign for constitutional referendum 86% of it was in favor of voting ”Yes,” 14% was the share for news, information and neutral propaganda on the amendments. The opposition viewpoint against the amendments had zero percent of the total time allocated for propaganda for the referendum.

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