ICT Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng has urged the media to be cautious during parallel tallying of the August 9 election.
He said misreporting may degenerate into electoral violence.
Last weekend, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati said media outlets, political parties and candidates are free to have their own parallel tallying centres.
The PS, who welcomed the move, urged media houses to ensure they give accurate information to avoid misleading the public about the election results.
He said in cases where various media outlets report variations in the number of votes received by each candidate there could be a possible conflict.
“It's now upon us to tally the correct information that is verified and ascertained so we don’t create conflict,” Ochieng said.
The PS spoke in Kisumu during a training organised by the Media Council of Kenya in partnership with the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops for media managers on election coverage.
Ochieng said the electioneering season presents a big test for media professionalism.
“This calls for enhanced preparation on the part of the media and communication managers to pave the way for professional coverage of the elections,” he said
The Media Council of Kenya has conducted a series of election coverage trainings for journalists, media practitioners and creative media content developers across the country.
At least 2,100 media personnel have been trained in election coverage in the last two months.
“I urge the media owners to employ professionals with knowledge of the media laws and ethics to uphold and protect the reputation of the Fourth Estate. I call on the media to rally Kenyans towards the common interest of peace and mutual coexistence.”
MCK chief executive officer David Omwoyo said the council has started setting up media centres in various regions to accord journalists a safer environment to work in during the election period.
Edited by A.N
