Nairobi — The Media Council of Kenya (MCK) has asked media practitioners intending to vie for elective positions in the next General Election to formally notify the council.
MCK Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo said the move is aimed at ensuring journalists pursuing political ambitions are not unfairly disadvantaged or forced out of newsrooms prematurely.
Omwoyo revealed that the council is developing special guidelines that will allow journalists to exercise their political rights while safeguarding fairness within the electoral process.
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According to the CEO, the proposed regulations will apply to producers, broadcasters, editors, reporters, photographers and other media practitioners seeking political office.
Speaking in Nakuru, Omwoyo said the guidelines are necessary because media platforms play a central role in political discourse and campaign communication.
"Media platforms are the spaces where campaigns, policy discussions and political communication take place," he said.
He noted that journalists and media owners cannot actively participate in competitive politics while still operating in influential newsroom roles, arguing that doing so would give them an unfair advantage over other candidates.
Omwoyo said MCK had issued election reporting guidelines during the 2022 General Election but is now expanding them to address the participation of media professionals in politics.
"MCK is going to organise a public participation forum and a validation process thereafter so that editorial leadership can review the proposed guidelines," he said.
The CEO explained that the guidelines will establish three key thresholds, including how journalists seeking political office should conduct themselves, timelines for exiting newsroom duties, and deadlines for stepping away from public-facing programmes.
"If you are a broadcaster hosting a governance programme, there must be an early timeline for leaving the screen or microphone and perhaps remaining behind the scenes in the studio. There should also be a threshold for completely leaving the newsroom so that candidates compete on a level playing field," he said.
Omwoyo disclosed that MCK plans to hold a validation workshop within the next two weeks, with the final guidelines expected to be launched within 30 days ahead of the one-year countdown to the General Election.
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He said the framework will provide a clear pathway on how journalists should report on politics while also participating in the political process.
"The whole idea is to ensure journalists seeking political office are not disadvantaged by being pushed out of newsrooms, while at the same time preventing them from using their profession to gain an unfair edge over competitors," he added.
