- But opposition parties say some issues still need to be ironed out
GAZETTE REPORTER
The Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS) and political parties have agreed on standard guidelines for this year’s election coverage, the Assistant Minister for State, Boitumelo Gofhamodimo, has said.
She told MPs recently that the guidelines endorsed during an August 24 stakeholder forum at Mass Media Complex, are in effect and compliance continues.
Gofhamodimo emphasised that TV and radio schedules may change due to editorial decisions or technical issues, sometimes affecting regular programming.
All political parties
“There is no reason to doubt the fairness of the upcoming general elections,” she said.
“In the interests of fairness and transparency, all political parties, jointly with the Departments of Broadcasting and Information Services, have recently developed the 2024 Election coverage plan.
“All political parties and the departments agreed on the content and political events to be covered in all the phases of the election, pre-election period, during election, and post-election phases.”
Unforeseen technical difficulties
Responding to a query from the MP for Sefhare-Ramokgonami, Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang, Gofhamodimo said unforeseen technical difficulties had hindered Btv’s ability to broadcast the opposition parties’ national congresses last year.
She asserted that the upcoming elections will be fair with agreed coverage plans in place for all political parties.
At one point during the election coverage talks, opposition parties threatened to boycott DBS election debates if equal coverage was not guaranteed.
“We will make the letter public”
Upon being contacted, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) said there were engagements with state broadcasters but said some issues remain unresolved. “We have met with DBS and its management,” said a BCP spokesperson.
“We presented to them our positions, not just as the BCP but also as opposition parties. There are still issues that need to be addressed. We have a problem with DBS covering the BDP manifesto while neglecting ours.
“We will be writing them a letter inviting them to cover our second manifesto launch. We will make the letter public.”