IEC Warns Against Defamatory Reporting

As political parties and politicians continue to canvass for votes in the run-up to the forthcoming Local Government elections, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) organized a one-day training course for both electronic and print media practitioners.

Amie Joof-Conteh, the lawyer for the IEC, said that there is a legal obligation on journalists and reporters to collaborate only with the IEC in respect of what is to be reported to the general public in order to prevent misleading or reckless reports.

Lawyer Joof-Conteh portrayed the legal implications of irresponsible or reckless reporting which, she posited, has the potential to render news seditious or defamatory. She added that this might excite disaffection and threaten the peace. 

She stressed that journalists found culpable of irresponsible reporting would be guilty of an offence and liable to be punished as stipulated in the constitution. She cited various sections of the constitution and the Election Decree as evidence of the outlawry of irresponsible reporting.

Also elaborating on election reporting, the IEC Vice Chairman, Mr. Malleh Sallah, said journalists also have a crucial role to play for the attainment of free and fair elections. He noted that journalists are required to carry out a function in election reporting as laid down by the law. He told those gathered that media practitioners must demonstrate responsibility by ensuring that the general public is provided with factual and balanced election reporting.