Democracy requires that the media be inclusive and play a supervisory role in public policy to be considered as a vehicle of information.
Therefore, the Kenyan media must be commended for doing a tremendous job in determining the political agendas and setting issues by organising debates, and also covering campaigns and providing air time and space for candidates to reach their supporters.
They did fantastic work in releasing opinion polls and electoral surveys some of which were largely correct in predicting the outcome of various elective positions.
Unfortunately, a close look at how the media performed their duty during the 2022 elections reveals that the watchdog function of the media has been questionable.
One of the reasons for questioning its failure is that the media released unofficial results which were erratic across different media houses and did not match what IEBC was streaming on their website portal.
This conduct brought anxiety and unnecessary tension to the masses which could be a recipe for violence akin to the 2007 elections because people believed their figures.
They ought to analyse and verify the figures and explain the margins of errors on their results before streaming.
The other reason that put their fourth estate role under scrutiny is that cases of election rigging were reported in many polling stations but they were not courageous enough to report irregularities.
Given the drama surrounding the 2022 elections, one might question the meaning of democracy.
The situation exposes the fragile nature of Kenya’s democracy and this makes people feel that political institutions do not respond to their problems.
It must be accepted that during the 2022 elections, the credibility of the media as people’s watchdogs has been somewhat “under close examination”.
They must in future prove to be morally upright by cross-examining and verifying data of national interest especially during electoral processes before relaying them to the public.
That way their credentials as people’s watchdog and occupants of the fourth estate will always be reassured because the media plays a cardinal role in the advancement of democracy.
Via email.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
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