Municipal elections in Burkina Faso: mobilisation of private television channels

On the occasion of this ballot, which marked the conclusion of a post-transition electoral cycle in Burkina Faso, the journalist Jean-Baptiste Prédaliadvised the editorial staff on the management of the electoral coverage, in order to provide full, pluralistic and objective information on the event. Emphasis was placed on the "civic" dimension of handling information and broadcasting voters' concerns.

The expert assisted the chief editors in organising the editorial team: distribution of personnel and tasks, establishment of a schedule, etc. A campaign coverage plan, including the monitoring of the parties' activities (outside the official campaign) and a list of subjects to be addressed, was also drawn up.

In preparation for the election nights, the editorial staff developed their report-writing and interview-preparation skills. Christophe Coutens, director, and Philippe Marchais,director of photography, worked with the technical teams of the three channels on the filming of election nights, particularly set presentation and lighting. Finally, the programmes were mapped out, in collaboration with the chief editors and technical managers, in accordance with the editorial identity of each television channel.

These election nights dedicated to the municipal elections constitute a real milestone for democracy in that they lay the foundations for a new dialogue between candidates and citizens and contribute towards the establishment of programmes in line with the concerns of the population. This is because the strengthening of editorial and managerial skills at the television channels and targeted information handling make it possible to relay citizens' expectations and therefore put public interest and the notion of government accountability to voters back at the heart of the debate.