Botswana Television's political bias

| Thursday February 28, 2008 00:00

In previous election campaigns, Btv has refused to disclose circumstances under which coverage for political parties may not be availed. However, it is common knowledge that the BDP is availed unlimited coverage for its political activities while the opposition is systematically sidelined with the hope that the nation will be hoodwinked into believing that the BDP is the only credible contender for elections. Below we tabulate some of the recent incidents that demonstrate the Btv lack of fair coverage.

When the BDP conducted its two rounds of primaries in Palapye, Btv covered both events. It is also worth noting that the reports of the two primary elections were screened with 24 hours of the results being announced. When the BCP conducted its primaries for the same constituency, Btv was requested to cover the results outcome. The television station did not honour the request.

The BDP candidate for Palapye was covered by the Btv news team whilst on a campaign trail on the eve of Christmas. The news bulletin reported the campaign activities of Master Goya which included the donation of fruits to patients admitted at the Palapye hospital as a vote catching gesture.

When the BCP candidate was launched on 17 February, the Btv news team attended the event. However, the news item was only reported a week later after numerous enquiries from our party office. On the other hand, the BDP weekend launches of their council candidate in the Serowe South constituency as well as Palapye were comprehensively covered and screened by the television station within 24 hours. Our request for coverage of our Marulamantsi candidate over the past weekend was declined.

The lack of professionalism and fairness on the part of the Btv management compromises the credibility of our electoral process. Elections can never be free and fair when the state television promotes the campaign of one political party to the exclusion of the others.

It will be recalled that in the past, Btv staff requested to conduct interviews with the BCP team that was preparing the party position paper on the CKGR issue. On more than one occasion, the interviews were shelved and never shared with the viewers as was expected. It appears that the senior management of Btv consider themselves to be an extension of the BDP structures. Their level of bias and lack of professionalism is unprecedented, particularly under the leadership of the current minister. There can be no doubt that as we approach the 2009 elections, Btv will be more active in promoting the BDP campaign.

On a more positive note, the BCP central committee resolved on the 16th of February that a party news letter be launched. This first edition will be published during the month of March. The publication will be done every three months and increase in frequency and volume as the elections approach. We trust that this will be an effective way of informing our members and the society at large about the activities undertaken by the party in light of the boycott by Btv and other government press agencies. We will continue to pursue more innovative ways of communicating the party message to potential voters.

Dumelang Saleshando
Information & Publicity Secretary