MBC impresses MEC

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has expressed satisfaction with the way taxpayer-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is covering all political parties.

The commission, during a meeting it had with MBC board and management at MEC offices in Blantyre on Friday, observed that there has been an improvement in coverage of presidential candidates by the broadcaster after a meeting the two institutions held sometime back.

However, a statement from MEC observes that there is still room for the broadcaster to improve its performance.

“There has been more airtime allocated to other political parties than before. [But] where the State President is being covered live on a campaign rally, MBC should ensure that other candidates are also accorded another opportunity to campaign.

“MBC is under-resourced to conduct its duties effectively, but should still strive to provide equitable coverage within the available resources. The Commission has purchased a television camera for the public broadcaster, which will enable it to cover more campaign and election issues,” reads the statement in part.

The Friday meeting was a follow-up to the meeting of April 4, 2014 and the aim was to assess the progress made in implementation of the changes agreed during the meeting.

At the first meeting, the public broadcaster was accused by MEC of being unprofessional when covering political meetings as it was favouring the governing People’s Party (PP).