SIEC WARNS LOCAL MEDIA

The local media has been called on to report responsibly on the by-election counting process.

Chief Electoral officer, Jane Waetara while acknowledging the local media for keeping the public informed, she said the actions by the print media has denied the them from entering the counting venues.

Mrs. Waetara said, this is because the media personnel have breached the code of conduct they have signed in a training organized by her office last month to cover the elections.

With the responsibility to report, media people have signed a code of conduct to report on the election process, so please respect the code of conduct that has been signed.”

She reiterated, today the media has been locked out from the counting Center by the Returning Officers because of the headline stories ran by the two national newspapers. 

“While acknowledging the support media coverage did during the election, the two newspapers breached the signed code of conduct between the media and the electoral office. Please, do report responsibly!”

“The premature publication of the progressive results by the print media and individual Facebook pages is the reson media has to be locked out throughout the by-election counting.

She added, Solomon Islanders have different levels of education backgrounds and misinformation always causes problems among voters.