Two presidential debates to be held in July 2022 ahead of General Elections
The Kenya Editors Guild has announced that two Presidential debates will be held on July 12, 2022 and July 26, 2022 ahead of August General Election.
Speaking at a media stakeholders’ workshop with the IEBC in Mombasa, KEG President Churchill Otieno said in between the two debates there would be debates for presidential running mates.
“Given that the nomination for presidential candidates on June 10,2022, we have set first presidential debate for July 12, 2022 and the second on July 26, 2022,” he said.
He said the media will release an updated Election Reporting Guidelines and proceed to mount election training across the country to prepare ourselves for the assignment.
The training, according to Otieno, will seek to elevate reportage to a standard that emphasises verification; sensitise on the rights of journalists and the media in political and democratic processes.
It is to also empower journalists to interrogate issues, to seek information, and safeguard their role in society as frontline human rights defenders.
They will also design a plan for media to empower citizens to fully participate at each stage of the electoral process and thereafter as a right.
This includes civic education, educating people on their rights and their duty to hold politicians, political parties, candidates to account throughout their tenures.
Otieno said they will put in place a joint taskforce whose key mandate is to ensure media operations are supported in a predictable and accountable manner.
“We are creating structures to ensure free flow of information on elections in ways that promote editorial independence. To this end, we will today put in place a joint taskforce whose key mandate is to ensure media operations are supported in a predictable and accountable manner,” he said.
