SHILLONG, Dec 19: In view of the 2023 assembly elections in Meghalaya, Vartalap — a media workshop — was held here on Monday.
The workshop thematised on ‘Media and Election – Electoral Risk Management and Communication with Media’, saw the participation of Director General of North East Zone, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, B Narayanan, Chief Electoral Officer of Meghalaya, FR Kharkongor, besides a host of media persons.
The event was organised by the Press Information Bureau, Shillong, along with the Department of Information and Public Relations, Meghalaya and the Shillong Press Club.
Speaking on the occasion, Narayanan termed the Election Commission of India a testament of a well-run election management body overseeing electoral processes.
Raising the pressing challenges before the election management bodies in today’s context, Narayanan stressed on the intersection of the functioning of such poll management bodies with social media. He added that social media platforms do self-proclaim that it has content display policies, but they also have the “algorithm power” in play.
Meghalaya CEO FR Kharkongor, during his address, said that the EC attaches maximum importance to ensuring a conducive environment for free and fair elections in the state.
Elaborating on the proactive role of media in holding a free and fair election, he said the Election Commission will try to ensure that a free and fair election is conducted in Meghalaya a couple of months from now.
“Media are the eyes and ears of the Election Commission and we always believe that it is a force multiplier. It is a catalyst for the delivery of a free and fair election, and it is the endeavour of both media and the Election Commission,” Kharkongor said, while adding that the need to project the right narrative is very essential because, elections, he exclaimed, are to a large extent a “perception game”.
Speaking on the effectiveness of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the CEO said that the commission has set ever-higher standards of efficient, smooth and professional conduct of elections and has been at the forefront of embracing, adopting and implementing the latest technological advancements in improving and fine-tuning the election processes and systems.
On the other hand, senior journalist Anirban Roy gave a detailed presentation on ‘Appreciating the Ethical Use of Digital Tool in info Dissemination, vis a vis Effective Electioneering’. He flagged the potential of “fake social media narratives” to affect the free and fair conduct of elections in the world as he pointed out that news gathering has become challenging in this digital era.
Bikash Singh, correspondent from Economic Times touched on the subject — the economics behind election.
He elaborated various provisions laid down by the Election Commission for tackling the negative effects of money power during the time of elections. He also said that some parties keep on demanding to increase the existing expenditure limit citing inflation as the reason.
