National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust has asked journalists in Kasungu District to help in enlightening voters on matters relating to the September 16 General Election.
Speaking during a training of journalists on governance and elections reporting, Nice Kasungu district programmes officer Gerald Chirwa said journalists are important stakeholders as they disseminate electoral messages to people.
He said: “The electorate relies on the media to get updated information on the various electoral processes.
“So we engaged the journalists to empower them with knowledge on electoral issues.”
Chirwa said democracy survives on people’s participation in elections; hence, the need to encourage them to take part in every electoral process.
Kasungu district information officer Wanangwa Tembo said apart from the actual elections, journalists should be interested to pursue stories on other electoral processes such as voter transfer which is underway in some districts.
“The period before the general election is also crucial. As journalists, we must develop an interest to write about governance issues as well,” he said.
Kasungu Community Radio journalist Sellaphine Selemani described the training as an eye-opener for journalists, saying it will help them to report elections issues from an informed perspective.
Nice organised the training as part of activities under the Boma Lathu Project running with financial support from the European Union.
In a related development, Malawi Electoral Commission is currently conducting voter transfer in some districts in the country
