Community Radio and Local Elections in India… Live!
30-03-2005 (New Delhi)
For the first time during these elections we have realized Namma Dhwani can play such an important role in our lives,” reports Murthy, a shop owner in Budikote, a village of some 6000 people in Karnataka in South India.
The state recently held Gram Panchayat elections in which people voted for members of their local, village-level governing bodies. During past elections in the area, there has been no media coverage of the counting process with election results generally announced by the authorities.
Naturally, Namma Dhwani (Our Voice), a community radio station supported by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), wanted to play a part in ensuring a free and fair election as well as greater degrees of transparency, accountability and community participation in the voting process. Having identified local level governance as a critical factor in the area’s development, the station planned out a series of special programmes around the elections.
Reporters went out in the village recording people’s opinions about ensuring a good election. The majority said that candidates standing for election should not try to bribe people to vote for them. Sensitive issues like corruption and violence during elections were approached using creative formats like radio plays and songs.
As voting day approached, the excitement level grew. Voter participation from Budikote was high. The votes were counted on March 1 in the sub-district headquarters in Bangarpet, some 15 km from Budikote.
The station sent a local reporter, Nagaraj, to the counting centre in Bangarpet with a mobile phone. Every fifteen minutes, he spoke with the Namma Dhwani studio to give an update on the voting results. Every word was carried live and cablecast to homes and shops throughout Budikote and relayed on loud speakers in nearby villages.
“Kindly don’t interrupt the program to play any songs. We want to hear more about the election results. Namma Dhwani is doing us a great help by letting us know the happenings instantaneously. We never had this before,” said Krishna M.N., local baker and ardent listener of Namma Dhwani. He had been listening to the programme since it started and did not want it interrupted even for a minute.
Election coverage started at noon and although there was no advance publicity, word got out quickly and by 2 PM there was a steady stream of people calling in to know about the results. The program continued until 2:30 AM the following morning. By the end, Namma Dhwani had logged nearly three hundred phone calls.
In addition to the coverage of vote counting, Namma Dhwani also did live interviews with candidates who were present at the counting centre, with the member of the state legislative assembly representing the Bangarpet sub-district and with other prominent members of the community about the elections.
At the studio, Mamata, a long-time volunteer, was behind the mixing console while Vanaja, Bhavani and Ashwath, all volunteers, were taking calls and organising the updates with Najaraj. As coverage progressed into the night, the broadcasters began discussing relevant topics - free and fair elections, community interest in the elections and chances of prospective candidates - in between updates from the counting centre.
Some two years ago Namma Dhwani began recording the village panchayat meetings, but after several months the panchayat disallowed the practice. In the lead up to this election, Namma Dhwani interviewed all the local candidates. In addition to questions about their background, intentions and assurances, each candidate was also asked “If you win, will you allow Namma Dhwani to cover and record all the local Panchayat meetings…?” Although most of the candidates agreed, time will tell if the new panchayat members will follow through on their promises.
Alongside the candidates, the winners in this election are clearly Namma Dhwani, its listeners and the local community. Together they put media’s role in good governance into practice in their village.
Naturally, Namma Dhwani (Our Voice), a community radio station supported by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), wanted to play a part in ensuring a free and fair election as well as greater degrees of transparency, accountability and community participation in the voting process. Having identified local level governance as a critical factor in the area’s development, the station planned out a series of special programmes around the elections.
Reporters went out in the village recording people’s opinions about ensuring a good election. The majority said that candidates standing for election should not try to bribe people to vote for them. Sensitive issues like corruption and violence during elections were approached using creative formats like radio plays and songs.
As voting day approached, the excitement level grew. Voter participation from Budikote was high. The votes were counted on March 1 in the sub-district headquarters in Bangarpet, some 15 km from Budikote.
The station sent a local reporter, Nagaraj, to the counting centre in Bangarpet with a mobile phone. Every fifteen minutes, he spoke with the Namma Dhwani studio to give an update on the voting results. Every word was carried live and cablecast to homes and shops throughout Budikote and relayed on loud speakers in nearby villages.
“Kindly don’t interrupt the program to play any songs. We want to hear more about the election results. Namma Dhwani is doing us a great help by letting us know the happenings instantaneously. We never had this before,” said Krishna M.N., local baker and ardent listener of Namma Dhwani. He had been listening to the programme since it started and did not want it interrupted even for a minute.
Election coverage started at noon and although there was no advance publicity, word got out quickly and by 2 PM there was a steady stream of people calling in to know about the results. The program continued until 2:30 AM the following morning. By the end, Namma Dhwani had logged nearly three hundred phone calls.
In addition to the coverage of vote counting, Namma Dhwani also did live interviews with candidates who were present at the counting centre, with the member of the state legislative assembly representing the Bangarpet sub-district and with other prominent members of the community about the elections.
At the studio, Mamata, a long-time volunteer, was behind the mixing console while Vanaja, Bhavani and Ashwath, all volunteers, were taking calls and organising the updates with Najaraj. As coverage progressed into the night, the broadcasters began discussing relevant topics - free and fair elections, community interest in the elections and chances of prospective candidates - in between updates from the counting centre.
Some two years ago Namma Dhwani began recording the village panchayat meetings, but after several months the panchayat disallowed the practice. In the lead up to this election, Namma Dhwani interviewed all the local candidates. In addition to questions about their background, intentions and assurances, each candidate was also asked “If you win, will you allow Namma Dhwani to cover and record all the local Panchayat meetings…?” Although most of the candidates agreed, time will tell if the new panchayat members will follow through on their promises.
Alongside the candidates, the winners in this election are clearly Namma Dhwani, its listeners and the local community. Together they put media’s role in good governance into practice in their village.
Related themes/countries
· News Archives: 2005
· India: News Archive 2005
· Community Media: News Archives 2005
Share this story:
Contact information
- UNESCO New Delhi
Source
- UNESCO Office in New Delhi
Field office