Launch of the election media campaign in Kenya

19 September 2007 - 2007 is a General Election year for Kenya. UNDP is implementing the elections assistance programme for 2007. This programme which is funded by a multitude of donors, aims to ensure free and fair elections will take place in Kenya. The media industry is crucial to this process. In order to ensure fair and accurate reporting on electoral issues, UNDP has entered into a partnership with the Media Council of Kenya MCK to implement a media training programme. This programme aims to enhance the skills of professional journalists and broadcasters in the area of electoral reporting. MCK will also be involved in the broader media activities such as producing a media strategy designed to examine and focus on issues such as governance, leadership and ethnicity, Another aspect of this project is on media monitoring. UNDP will carry out qualitative and quantitative monitoring of media in this election environment. The programme will also involve voter education activities together with the Electoral Commission of Kenya. Centres have been opened at Anniversary Towers where the public can inquire about how the elections will be conducted. Click on the Media Council of Kenya website for detail.

As the political and electoral environment is a buzz with activities of those seeking to capture various political seats or defending the same, Media Focus on Africa Foundation (MFAF) and other media related organisations are launching an election media campaign that is focused on interrogating important issues as well as putting aspiring and incumbent candidates and their respective political parties on the spotlight. Such interrogation on issues will in part act as a catalyst and offer a pool of information that the voters will use to vet and make decisions on whom to vote in at the various levels of leadership. UNDP Kenya, together with key stakeholders and development partners, are implementing the "2007 Election Assistance Programme" of technical assistance.

Media Focus on Africa is a Kenyan registered foundation whose goal is to promote communication for development. In addition MFAF is promoting improvement of media standards and the free flow of information in the interest of creating a better informed society. It represents longstanding and unique International/African and Kenyan knowledge and expertise of the media industry and the political environment in which they operate.

In response to a request from the Government of Kenya, the UNDP Kenya is implementing the "2007 Elections Assistance Programme" of technical assistance, together with key stakeholders and development partners, which has two main goals:

" Independent assessment of the elections as free and fair.
" Increased voter turn-out.

This will be achieved through providing support to the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), and strengthening the overall capacity of the civil society, media, and other agencies critical to the achievement of free and fair elections, and improvement of citizens' participation in the electoral process and understanding of their rights and duties. The Program will contribute to the development of an open and accountable political system of governance and the conduct of a peaceful and informed electoral process by encouraging competitive issue-based politics, education and tolerance.

A separate program of activities focusing specifically on voter education and the voting processes is being designed for implementation through ECK and locally-based NGOs.

Specific areas which the harmonized media strategy of the Election Assistance Programme aims to target include:

" Party platforms, policies and promises in fields as diverse as economic development, foreign policy; education, health and transport;
" The qualities of leadership;
" Personalities vs political parties - the future for Kenyan politics;
" Accountability of elected representatives to electoral promises and to constituents and the roles and responsibilities of elected leaders;
" Corruption and the influence of money politics;
" The role of ethnic and tribal allegiances in politics and related risk of unrest;
" Access to political power and leadership roles by women and the debate around affirmative action proposals;
" Causes of and solutions to election-related violence.

A number of development partners are supporting the implementation of the UNDP "2007 Election Assistance Programme" through a joint program basket fund.
Among the principal outcomes the program hopes to achieve are an increased awareness by citizens of electoral processes, and the provision of enhanced information to voters to make informed decisions. This means a clear focus not only on voter education and the electoral process itself, but the broader issues-based context in which elections are held.