Background

Guyana achieved a peaceful poll in August of 2006 due to strides made in recent years in consolidating democratic governance, social peace, and development. By most accounts, including by local and international observers, the poll was a fair reflection of the will of the voters, a big improvement from previous elections held in 1992, 1997 and 2001.  This achievement was made possible by a large number of players, acting independently and collectively, including but not limited to, the political parties, the media and civil society and international development partners.

The Social Cohesion Programme contributed in major ways to this success, however, the gains achieved are still fragile and many national institutions could benefit from further strengthening in order that those gains can be more sustainable.  Stakeholder comfort and confidence in the integrity of these institutions, such as commissions, government agencies, civil society and local community groups needs to be improved and sustained.

There is agreement that key steps including reaching agreement on, and continuing the implementation of, comprehensive constitutional reforms, promotion of more meaningful dialogue and greater participation of different groups are now required.

The holding of peaceful national elections in Guyana that meet the provisions of the Constitution and international standards, contributes to Outcome 7 by strengthening the democratic basis for integrity and transparency at every level and by laying a foundation for political stability. As a partner trusted by the major local and international stakeholders, UNDP provides support to strengthen the integrity and effectiveness of GECOM and to facilitate vital donor support to the electoral process. To aid GECOM to carry out its objectives UNDP supports GECOM’S Media Monitoring and IT units.

Objectives

The objective of this support is to:

• Monitor the local media and report on breaches of the principles enshrined in the 2006 Media Code of Conduct and norms associated with international best practices in journalism.
• Promote the raising of professional standards in the media with regards to the reporting of political, electoral, governance and general social issues.
• Encourage equity, balance and fairness in news reporting.
• Influence media owners/operatives to abide by the principles enshrined of the 2006 Media Code of Conduct.
• Support GECOM’s Public Relations Department in information gathering and improving the organization’s public image.

Achievements and expected results

• Daily monitoring of Guyana’s print and broadcast media for conformity to the principles enshrined 2006 Media Code of Conduct and international best practices in journalism.
• The compilation of a body of incontrovertible evidence-based information of local media performance through a system of continuous daily monitoring using the 2006 Media Code of Conduct (MCC) as the standard.
• Dissemination of periodic reports of the Unit’s findings on the local media’s performance and submission of same to interested stakeholders, in this case the local media, GECOM and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• Providing GECOM’s Public Relations Department with back-up support in the area of information gathering.
• The provision of information that can be used as a reference by any stakeholder or interested party for assessing/evaluating the media’s behavior/performance at any given time.
• Produce periodic reports on the MMU’s findings in relation to media reportage of election, political, governance and other related social issues.
• Produce a comprehensive final report upon the conclusion of the work of the MMU for the year 2008, including successes/failures, advantages/disadvantages, which affected its work, and relevant recommendations.

Last Revised: March 2008