Court orders fair electoral coverage by Malawi radio
THE HIGH COURT in Malawi recently ordered the Electoral Commission to ensure that the state-controlled Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) provided fair coverage to all political players in the run-up to the June general elections.
Making the ruling in the case in which three private citizens were suing the commission for not directing the corporation to give fair coverage to all parties, Mkandawire J said that it was the duty of the commission to ensure that free and fair elections were held in the country.
He ruled that "(The commission) be directed to take concrete steps to ensure that all competitors in the electoral process have equal and/or fair access to all state-controlled media."
The case was filed by three Malawi citizens dissatisfied with MBC's coverage of the election. The court held that the Constitution and both the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections and the Electoral Commission acts oblige the commission to ensure that all state-funded facilities were put at the disposal of all competitors fairly.
Malawi voters choose a new government: Public radio should be fair to all.
The court, however, directed the three to refer the complaints back to the commission for concrete orders to the corporation to open up to other players since the Electoral Commission Act mandated it to adjudicate in all complaints regarding the electoral process. Mkandawire J ruled that the case should be refereed back to the High Court for appeal or judicial review if the public broadcaster refused to open up to all political players, accordingly.
The three sued the commission and corporation when the latter continued to give President Bakili Muluzi and his ruling United Democratic Front full access to the radio at the expense of other presidential aspirants.
Muluzi had all his campaign rallies covered live and rebroadcast in the evening on the radio while the same privilege was not extended to the other parties.
