The Rwandan media has been urged to play a leading role in the forthcoming presidential elections through objective and balanced reporting.

Speaking yesterday during a media workshop on media and the election process in Kigali, Patrice Mulama, the Executive Secretary of the Media High Council, called on journalists to desist from partisan reporting on the elections.

He advised the media to observe high levels of professionalism and to protect their credibility during the election period.

"The media is a strong instrument of governance which is reinforced through elections. Therefore, as journalists, we must avoid partial reporting, be objective and report the truth,” Mulama said.

He urged the media to provide a level playing field for all presidential candidates during the campaigns.
In his presentation on media and democracy, Frank Tanganika, a veteran journalist, described the media as the backbone of democracy. He said that as a watchdog, the media should hold leaders to account.

 "The media must show a proper picture of the social, economic and cultural status of a society by reporting accurately,” Tanganyika said.

He requested media owners to run their media outlets as business entities in order to avoid being manipulated by anybody.

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