MISA Malawi Urges Journalists to Hold Politicians Accountable for 2025 Polls
MISA Malawi has organized such programs since 2019 to help equip journalists with skills in election reporting.
LILONGWE, Malawi— The Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi Chapter has challenged journalists in the country to keep politicians accountable ahead of the 2025 tripartite elections, writes Memory Phoso.
MISA Malawi Vice Chairperson Chisomo Ngulube made the remarks Tuesday morning at the opening of a four-day training program on voter-centered election reporting in the Chichewa language for journalists.
"More often, journalists focus on the politicians. But at the end of the day, it is about the voters," Ngulube said.
"What were their expectations when they went to vote in the 2019-2020 elections. Were their aspirations met? And if we focus on those stories, we will tell better stories because journalists serve the people."
The MISA Malawi vice chairperson added that journalists need to complement the efforts of others in their role in ensuring a free and fair election in 2025.
"Journalists need to play a role and compliment efforts of others. It is a collaborative effort, as MISA Malawi, we are doing our part in ensuring a free and fair election in 2025," he said.
In a separate interview, political commentator Victor Chipofya welcomed the training, saying journalists are critical in society.
"The 2025 elections will be one of the most intense elections in the country, hence the need to provide information to people in a right way," Chipofya said.
"Journalists are critical in our society and they need to be constantly trained on how best to feed the nation with information."
Speaking at the end of the first day's training, Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Media and Public Relations Officer Sangwani Mwafulirwa commended MISA Malawi for the program, saying it will contribute to credible elections in 2025.
"As MEC, we have our own training sessions, but we are also very grateful when institutions like MISA Malawi do come up with initiatives to train the journalists because this will go a long way in contributing to the credibility of the elections," Mwafulirwa said.
"If journalists send information that is not well prepared and not well packaged to the public, it can work to the detriment of the electoral processes," he added.
"That is why I am still emphasizing that the training is very important, and it would be our wish that so many stakeholders should come in so that each and every should be trained so that when they report about elections, they should report from an informed perspective."
A total of 10 journalists from different media outlets are attending the training to be drilled on content knowledge of the electoral process and reporting skills.
MISA Malawi has organized such programs since 2019 to help equip journalists with skills in election reporting.
Last week, a session focused on the Tumbuka language was held in Mzuzu.
The four-day training in Lilongwe is supported by DW Akademie, Germany's leading organization for media development.
Veteran communications specialist Anderson Fumulani is the lead trainer.