Media Ethics Code for Presidential elections to be put: SCMR

CAIRO – 21 September 2017: The Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) discussed on Wednesday the criteria and controls regarding media coverage of the Egyptian presidential elections, the Council’s First Under-Secretary Abdel-Fattah El-Gebaly said.

The council’s members have approved a range of ethical rules to ensure equal opportunities for all candidates, safeguard their rights and reputation, and abide by objectivity and impartiality.

In coordination with the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the National Press Authority (NPA), a draft code of ethics for media employees will be prepared to cover presidential elections, including penalties for offenders, El-Gebaly asserted in a press statement.

SCMR is communicating with NEC to elaborate mechanisms encouraging citizens to participate in the voting process by launching awareness-raising campaigns in national newspapers.

On the other hand, SCMR has agreed to restructure the training center for African journalists and media workers on the organizational, financial, and administrative level in cooperation with a specialist research center to fully play its role, he added.

Concerning religious fatwas, he said that the council has nothing to do in this regard, explaining that the odd fatwas that appeared in media recently were referred to Al-Azhar for investigation and will provide the council with the results.

El-Gebaly revealed that the council shall prepare a report on the media situation in Egypt and submit it to the Parliament or public opinion. It is also about to finalize the freedom of information bill and that the final draft will be issued within two weeks.

In April 2017, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi issued a decree to establish three new bodies to regulate the work of the media in Egypt: the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR), the National Press Authority (NPA), and the National Media Authority (NMA).

A law on the institutional regulation of the press and the media in Egypt was approved by Egypt’s parliament on Tuesday.

In December 2016, the Egyptian parliament approved a law on the "Institutional Regulation of the Press and the Media in Egypt."