The Director General of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (nbc), Stanley Similo, has emphasised that ethical, balanced, and accurate reporting is crucial for fair elections, stressing that the media play a vital role in democracy by providing voters with the information they need to make informed decisions.

Similo was addressing the broadcaster's management team about election-related matters.

He stated that despite budgetary constraints, maintaining high-quality journalism and broadcast standards is essential for the integrity of the electoral process.

"The media's role is quite pivotal because through that we can literally hold everybody accountable, and what must then empower our journalists, technical teams, with the knowledge and tools to cover. We must be there doing our work in a very ethical fashion, making sure that impartiality is the word of the day, and of course, we must remain the professionals that we are, but importantly, events of this nature can be very costly, extremely costly if they are not managed properly."

Explaining the Election Coverage Policy, Similo noted that the policy amended in September 2014 integrates feedback from various political parties to ensure fair and balanced coverage.

"We have a platform that we call the election forum, the nbc forum, where we invite political parties, sit, talk to them, and tell them how we intend to do this because, remember, transparency is very important in this matter so that we can allay their fears and also hear what they think. Because a lot of people will come with preconceived ideas around who we are and what we do."

In preparing for election day coverage, he urged his management team to develop a comprehensive plan with a timeline covering pre-election activities, voting day events, and post-election analysis.

He emphasised the need for accurate, timely, and unbiased reporting of election results, cautioning against premature declarations before official confirmation.

He also urged nbc journalists to approach election coverage with integrity, professionalism, and fairness, ensuring that their work contributes positively to the democratic process.