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Mr Christian Owusu Parry, the acting Director of Public Affairs of the Electoral Commission has appealed to the media to cross-check information they receive about the Commission before publishing it to avoid damaging its reputation.

He said “On few occasions the media has been used to run down the election management body, the Electoral Commission itself”.

Mr Owusu Parry made the appeal when he addressed a forum in Tamale, organized by Youth Bridge Foundation, a non-governmental organization, in collaboration with the Women Commissioner’s Office of the Tamale Campus of the University for Development Studies on responsible media reportage and first-time voters and persons with disability (PwD).

The forum, which was sponsored by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, was to create a platform for the participants, who were first-time voters and PwD, to dialogue and educate student journalists on youth and disability issues reportage before and during elections 2016.

Mr Owusu Parry said “such developments undermine the confidence people have in the Commission, which is not good for our electoral process” hence the need to cross-check negative information about the Electoral Commission before publishing it.

He said “Journalists and the media generally have very crucial roles to play in elections to ensure that our democracy is protected and this they can do by being responsible”.

He stated that “They must bear in mind that their primary responsibility as media people is to ensure the peace and stability of the nation for which reason they must eschew all forms of negative reportage”.

He urged the media to be interested in political party manifestos to inform the youth and the marginalized about what those who sought to lead the nation had for their development, adding this would be a mark of responsible media.

Professor Joseph Atsu Ayee, Independent Scholar and First Emeka Anyaoku Visiting Professor of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, urged the media to commit to delivering thorough, verified and unbiased information, pulled from a number of diverse sources.

Professor Atsu Ayee also urged the media to refrain from publishing information that encourages divisions or antagonistic discussions, which were likely to incite violence or jeopardize social cohesion in the country.

Alhahi Abdul Razak Saani, Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education urged first-time voters to be discerning to interrogate campaign messages of political parties and their candidates to make informed choices.

Mr Seth Oteng, Executive Director of Youth Bridge Foundation, said ignorance of electoral processes among the youth made them susceptible to partisan groups scattering false information and instigating violence to harm political opponents or even disturb the electoral process hence the forum.