(AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB)
The majority of media coverage handling the presidential elections tackles the elections in a positive light, according to the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR).
The EOHR announced it is monitoring the coverage of the presidential elections by media outlets in a statement released on Monday. The elections are scheduled to take place on 26 and 27 May.
In its first qualitative report on elections’ coverage, the EOHR stated that 44% of the news reports covered the elections in a positive light, 30% covered them in a negative light while 26% remained neutral.
Of the 12 media outlets the EOHR is monitoring, the organisation stated that independent outlets are more concerned with covering the elections and presidential campaigns than state-run outlets. When choosing the outlets it would monitor, EOHR said it made sure the outlets had wide circulation and a large audience.
Hafez AbuSeada, director of the EOHR, stressed in Monday’s statement that “media outlets play a pivotal role in spreading political awareness in society through tackling national issues”.
Egyptian expatriates have already voted in the presidential elections, held Thursday through Monday, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs citing a large voter turn-out.
Former Defence Minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Nasserist Hamdeen Sabahy are the only two candidates running in the elections.
