At the office of Conseil Nationale de la Presse (CNP) in Abidjan: Antti Kuusi, IMS with Thomas Nielsen, consultant and CNP press director Francis Domo.

As media in Ivory Coast prepare to cover presidential elections in the country set for 29 November, rumours of a postponement until February 2010 are rampant  

By Anti Kuusi, IMS

Official news of whether the presidential elections will take place next month is due out any day. The two main problems that seem to be facing election officials are that the registration of voters has not been properly completed and the agreed process of gathering arms has not even begun.

No criticism of government

The situation in Abidjan is peaceful and people are going about their daily affairs. The media is gearing up for the election campaign and the activities supporting the political parties that finance them. This is one of the major problems in the country. There is only one independent newspaper publisher, Groupe Olympe, which makes a profit. State media, both print and broadcast, are unable to criticize the government although the media claims to be free to publish whatever they wish. Another challenge is the slow distribution of newspapers which eats into their profitability.

Temporary truce between media and security forces

The new Press Freedom Index for 2009 published by Reporters without Borders on 21 October, ranks  Ivory Coast as 104^th  out of 179 countries, a slight improvement from last year’s 109^th place. The country which was was once praised for its stability has become another of Africa's nations to slip back into internal conflict.  

Positive developments have taken place and the relationship between media and security forces has become more relaxed. During recent demonstrations and political rallies police have allowed media to  report from these events unhindered and even helped them to access the rallies.

To help improve working conditions for media in Ivory Coast, International Media Support (IMS) brought together representatives of the media, government and security forces in October 2008 to further understanding between the parties.

Lack of funding incriminates editorial independence

The two biggest problems for media in Ivory Coast are related to financing and professionalism. Local media do not want to be politically affiliated, but the lack of advertisement income and high costs of printing and paper forces them to seek additional funding in order to stay operational.

Further more, the education of journalists is poor and low salaries do not do much to improve the  situation of journalists. As an editor on the state-owned newspaper Fraternite Matin said:

- To become a journalist, it has has been enough just to be able to write in French.

In an effort to help the Ivory Coast media achieve more rounded and balanced coverage of the coming election despite the challenges they face, IMS is in the process of training the journalists in how to manuever during election times.

Media in need of support

Overall, the media sector in Ivory Coast is still in need of a fair amount of assistance to be able to fulfill its watchdog function. Ivory Coast has been marred by internal strife since 1999, with a number of peace agreements failing to have the desired impact.

IMS has worked with media in Ivory Coast since 2006 to empower the media outlets that work to constructively defend press freedom and pursue a peaceful resolve of the ongoing conflict. Together with UNESCO, IMS has produced a guide for journalists during the electoral period which helps to sensitize media for proper conduct during the election period and provides a guide for monitoring media coverage and conduct during elections.

For more information on IMS’ work in Ivory Coast, click here.