Fati Abubakar
Deputy Minister for Information, Fati Abubakar, has urged African Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) to set up robust communications machinery to effectively respond to misinformation that characterise election periods.
She 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 Electoral 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.
She said it has the tendency to spread falsehoods and instigate public anger, particularly during election times, and it was time for the African EMBs to adopt modern ways of dealing with such emerging problems.
“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, representatives 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.