Deputy Minister for Information Fatimatu Abubakar has entreated African Election Management Bodies (EMBs) to set up modern and robust communication machinery to effectively respond to misinformation that characterise election periods.
Ms Abubakar made the call at the opening of the 7th ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) General Assembly meeting and biennial symposium in Accra on Monday.
Speaking on the theme: “An Efficient Communication Strategy for Enhanced Relationship Between Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and Electoral Stakeholders in West Africa,” the Deputy Minister said the advent of new media has made the issue of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation so widespread.
This, according to her, makes it easier to spread falsehoods and instigate public anger particularly during election times hence, African EMBs must adopt modern ways of dealing with them.
“It is important for EMBs to set up a highly effective, robust and widespread communications machinery which can identify elements of disinformation and misinformation; rapidly respond to it and even proactively communicate to build and maintain public confidence.
“In the last general elections, Ghana’s EC took practical steps to deal with misinformation and disinformation and some which include, daily publications of registration returns, and the people must know series. This, I must say, really impacted the election communications landscape of Ghana and contributed immensely to the success and credibility of the last election,” she said.
The Symposium brought together EMBs, CSOs, Media Professionals, Representative from the various political parties, Representatives of International Institutions and Technical Partners.
She indicated that elections are a broader political process, rather than a one-off event therefore, it is important for African EMBs to manage the underlying tensions that it brings by being on the lookout for fake news and misleading information and quickly responding to them through proactive communication.
