Access to media during the upcoming elections |21 October 2020

Electoral Commision reacts to comments made by media association’s chairman

In an interview aired on SBC on Monday October 19, 2020, Mr Rassin Vanier, the chairman of the Association of Media Practitioners of Seychelles (AMPS) who declared that he was speaking on behalf of the media, made a very serious allegation against the Electoral Commission in respect of the forthcoming elections.

He stated that the Commission was preventing access to the media because these are the Commission’s first elections and this body is playing safe to prevent the media from reporting on mistakes and irregularities during the process.

This statement clearly undermines the work and intends to affect the credibility of the current Commission and the elections to be conducted this week.

It furthermore insinuates that the Commission is incompetent and are taking steps to hide its incompetence.

Mr Vanier first insinuated that the Commission was deliberately hampering the work of the media by not giving a guaranty that the media will have access to the electoral process as was the case in previous elections. This is totally false and unfounded. The Commission, from the beginning, has been working with the media to ensure that the population is well aware and kept informed on the preparations and conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Commission has invited and accredited all national media houses to participate and cover the elections.

Mr Vanier’s point of contention is that the Commission is allowing Electoral Officers the discretion to give access to journalists inside the polling station for the forthcoming elections, which according to him was not the case in previous elections. Once again, this is totally false. As a professed experienced journalist, Mr Vanier should surely have had the time to browse the Elections Act and to note that section 62(2) states that:

(2) The Electoral Officer at a polling station shall exclude from the polling station all persons, other than a person wishing to vote at

the polling station…. As per this section of the Act entrance to the polling station is indeed at the discretion of the Electoral Officer who oversees the station. This ensures that this officer always remains in control of their station. The Commission is therefore not able to make exceptions for journalists who wish to enter the station at their own will. All Electoral Officers who oversee their stations are trained professionals who will assess the situation at the request for entrance by the press and make their judgement accordingly on immediate or delayed entrance. The Electoral Officer is given this authority by law to ensure that the voter can exercise his/her right to vote as per the regulations and in total secrecy as per the voter’s right.

The practice is that Electoral Officers do allow journalists to enter the stations for coverage but uses their discretion to control the number of access, timing and number of people at a time is so as not to disturb the voters and voting process.

The Electoral Commission of Seychelles would like to assure the public and the media that the forthcoming elections will be conducted professionally, fairly and in transparency strictly according to the existing laws and regulations. The Commission recognises the important and participatory roles of the media and will do the utmost, in line with the existing laws to ensure that the media get access and cover these elections.

The Commission is well aware, and have received correspondence that the statements and opinions of Mr Vanier is NOT representative of that of the media community of Seychelles and all members of the AMPS for that matter.

The Commission also reaffirms and recognises the professionalism, ability and experience of all its Electoral Officers who have voluntarily come forward and similarly welcomes with confidence the experienced staff that have been newly appointed, deputy Electoral and Electoral Officers to ensure that this democratic process takes place with the highest standards ever.

Communique from the Electoral Commission