THE MEDIA AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

Political communication is pivotal in any democratic dispensation, the case of The Gambia not an exception! In a situation where a democratically elected government continues to turn a blind eye on one of the key principles of governance is disastrous. By remaining close-mouthed to appalling situations faced in the country is unacceptable. Again, when this situation becomes the norm, it hampers growth, stifles development and raises suspicion in politics.

In our modern era of governance, one of the most important elements expected from the leadership or political actors is trustworthiness. When this value is absent, the repercussions are not uncommon. When this happens, chaos and protests will be the order of the day. This has been the genesis of most revolutions of the 21st century most especially in the Middle East as witnessed in the famous Arab Spring. The uninformed and the somewhat ignorant continue to rape our infant democracy by taking the law into their hands. Some act on hear-say while others look at issues uncritically and without objectivity due to inadequate or lack of information.

Consequently, when all forms of political communication are inadequate or absent, the populace always sees this lacuna as an opportunity and perhaps, the only way for which their voices could be heard using civil unrests.  To make matters worse, dictatorial and authoritarian regimes seek to checkmate such cases as well as political assemblies by criminalizing their activities. This is done by making sure that even securing the permit in order to hold peaceful protests becomes difficult or impossible altogether! Such bureaucracies and protocols make those in power and authority decide the rules of the political game even in a democracy. Is this what we bargained for our nascent democracy? Is this the path for our new dispensation?

In order to forestall this problem calls for effective political communication. Political communication is a key tool in facilitating information flow between government and the governed, ruler and the ruled. At no point in time should governments leave the citizenry in a position of political dilemma. If not informed through the right channels, the populace of any nation will continue to be misinformed by unscrupulous elements in society who want to score cheap political points or better still who are bent on doing “poli-tricks”. Indeed, politics must bring in dividends not underdevelopment and division, and the earlier we tackle political issues objectively through effective political communication, the better for our democracy!