Bloggers as Election Watchdogs Mini Blog Summit Nov 24, 2007 Luz Rimban

Gaps in Reportage in 2004 Party-list elections Local elections Senatorial elections Policy development issues From CMFR media monitoring of the media coverage of the 2004 elections.

Coverage of 2007 elections Coverage not as extensive –Public disinterest –Public skepticism over electoral institutions Focused on TU vs. GO From CMFR media monitoring of the media coverage of the 2007 elections.

Other gaps: Failure to turn key issues into election issues: –“Hello, Garci” –Extrajudicial killings –Corruption Linking local issues and elections with national issues and contests

Questions: Do bloggers fill the gaps? Which gaps? How to do it? How do bloggers work with other election watchdogs? To what end? How do you excite the public and get them interested in the effort?

Elements of an Election 1.Political parties and candidates 2.The issues 3.The voting process 4.The media

Voters’ rights: Are all voters on the voters’ lists? Are all voters free to hear and discuss the parties and issues without fear? Do parties threaten voters or election officials or tell them for whom to vote? Do parties or officials try to bribe voters with money, large gifts, or promises of jobs?

Candidates and party rights Are election rules and limits applied equally to all parties? Are any powerful interests spending large amounts of money to support one particular party or candidate? Are government officials neutral and not using government money or resources such as vehicles to favor one party? Is the party in power announcing new projects at the start of the election campaign?

The election process Are voters’ lists complete? Is the election commission impartial? Does the election commission investigate and stop violations of election laws? Does the private media provide reliable and fair reporting? Does the private media treat all parties’ advertisements equally?

Thank you.