PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) organized a one-day media workshop under the theme “Responsible Reporting for Peaceful and Inclusive Elections” in a local hotel at Swat on Thursday.
The guest speaker was Dr. Jamaluddin, head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Swat, while Regional Election Commissioner Swat Fazal Hakeem presided over the session.
The purpose of the media training workshop was the orientation of reporters on election laws and various election-related activities, spread of false news, misinformation, misleading news, and hate speech in the election through mainstream media and social media and to educate marginalized sections, women, the role of media in improving the inclusion of transgender, the elderly, persons with disabilities and minorities, the responsibility of professional media regarding the code of conduct and prevention of violations were discussed.
Representatives of print and electronic media participated in this training program.
Later, Spokesman Provincial Election Commissioner Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Ahmad thanked the participants for participating in the training session on behalf of the Election Commission.
District Election Commissioner Swat Faridullah Khattak, , Khuram Badr and Kulsoom Meraj (experts on electoral system) performed the duties as trainers and conducted various sessions to give the participants practical exercises related to the election process.
Addressing the participants, Dr. Jamaluddin briefed the participants on responsible and investigative reporting with reference to the election process.
He said that this is the era of social media and journalists should take special care of journalistic values for authentic and responsible reporting.
He further said that political intolerance is at its peak in Pakistan. In elections, there is one winner and many losers, so unwarranted criticism of the Election Commission has become a norm. However, he further said that the orders of the Election Commission in the recent past are praiseworthy. He stressed for following the code of conduct in this regard in letter and spirit.
Addressing the participants of the training workshop, Regional Election Commissioner Swat Fazal Hakeem said that the role of media is very important, saying it plays the role of a bridge for the Election Commission through which various types of information are conveyed to the public, but for this, it is necessary that the media should be fully aware of the election factors, laws and regulations.
He said that it is the responsibility of the election commission to provide accurate information to the media, which will not only facilitate beat reporters and media representatives. Rather, the message of the Election Commission will also reach various stakeholders in a good manner.