The Assistant Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS) Ambassador Hossam Zaki confirmed that the media is a fundamentally influential partner on the course of the election process through its various stages.
In a recorded speech before the opening session of the Fourth Forum of Arab Elections Administrations, Zaki said that the media is closely connected to the parties of the election process due to its contribution that establishes the transparency, credibility and integrity of the elections.
Media’s role in elections in the age of digital technology and artificial intelligence witnessed successive changes, not all of them positive, he pointed out.
Despite the opportunities provided by modern technology to develop the voting process, give transparency and provide more information to the voters about the candidates and their programs, some experiences in recent years indicate harmful roles, he explained.
It is possible to use technology, social media and artificial intelligence applications to play these roles in a way that discredits the election process, he added.
He stressed that this must be studied in an extensive manner, in a manner that protects voting experiences in countries from these emerging problems.
The forum deals with the topic of media and elections in this session, as a continuation of a successful cooperation in the field of election affairs between the Arab League and the UN during the past decade, Zaki mentioned.
Holding the forum comes within the framework of following up on the implementation of the decision of the Council of the Arab League at the ministerial level that was held in September 2015, which welcomed the holding of a forum on elections in cooperation with the UN, in which all Arab election bodies and administrations as well as leading regional and international organizations in the field of elections participated, he said.
He underscored that this pioneering forum in its field was able to lay a solid foundation for constructive cooperation and coordination between the parties concerned with the voting process in Arab countries.
This session is inseparable from the previous three sessions of the forum, which were held in the years 2016, 2018 and 2021 to discuss vital issues such as voter registration, he explained.
The focus of the forum this year deals with an influential and effective aspect of the voting process, which is the media and elections, he pointed out.
The three-day forum aims to enhance cooperation in the field of elections through exchanging experiences among election administrations in the Arab region.
Multiple heads and members of Arab election administrations and bodies will participate in the fourth forum, in addition to representatives of international organizations, to discuss various aspects of the media’s role.
The sessions of the forum will include presentations by member states and international organizations on the role of traditional and digital media in the elections, ways to enhance the capabilities of election administrations that deals with media during the voting processes will also be discussed.
Source: Kuwait News Agency