The Broadcasting Coordination Council has approved a set of guidelines for broadcasters that sets out principles of equitable, balanced and unbiased electoral reporting, IPN.
The document requires every broadcaster covering the upcoming presidential elections to submit a declaration to the BCC detailing their electoral coverage policy. The declarations must be submitted within seven days from the publishing by the Central Election Commission of the Media Coverage Regulation.
The declarations will be then checked by the BCC against its standards for equitable reporting, and those broadcasters whose policies will fail to meet the standards will be prohibited from covering the presidential elections.
The guidelines also require broadcasters to adapt their electoral reporting for persons with disabilities. In particular, the information must be rendered accessible to the audience with hearing or vision impairments through texts, sign language interpretation, audio description or similar techniques.
