This European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) says that the oversight broadcasting authority did not conduct thorough monitoring during the campaign trail.
The EU EOM noted that the media environment is highly politicised, with very few independent media and most media outlets being either directly affiliated or leaning to one of the two main political camps. The body added that the State-owned broadcast and print media are not independent from political influence.
The mission said that the State-owned broadcast media, which benefits from the widest reach in the country, showed an “overt” bias in favour of the government and ruling coalition. The State-owned TV Channel 11 devoted a total of 60 per cent of its news coverage to the government and the president, and 25 per cent to APNU+AFC.
The State-owned newspaper, Guyana Chronicle, provided extensive news coverage of the incumbent president, government and ruling coalition, offering considerable space to letters from readers critical towards PPP/C. Conversely, Guyana Times offered wide and positive coverage of PPP/C and substantial negative coverage of the government and ruling coalition. Stabroek News and Kaieteur News proved to be rather balanced in their news coverage, the EU EOM reported.
The mission pointed to the fact that there is no specific regulation for the coverage of the election period by broadcast and print media. Unlike in 2015, no code of conduct for the media was developed nor any election-related media monitoring was conducted. However, the Constitution and legislation prohibit dissemination of racially divisive messages and incitement to violence and hatred. The Broadcasting Act requires broadcasters, inter alia, to provide a fair and balanced coverage of matters related to national politics and to distinguish between editorial and paid-for content.
