Apologise for being emphatic in projection of election results – Sulemana Braimah tells TV3

Sulemana Braimah, the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has asked the management of Media General, owners of TV 3 to apologise for erring in projecting the results of the 2020 general elections.

According to him, the TV station must admit that they rushed in wanting to be the first in projecting the winner of the December 7 elections and “got it terribly wrong”.

“You must admit that you rushed in wanting to be the first and got it terribly wrong. You were emphatic in the projection. What you do is to apologise and give assurance of your commitment to fact-based, unbiased reporting as we know you to be,” a post on his social media handle read.

During the December 7 elections, TV 3 projected that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had won more seats in the parliamentary as against the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“…We can say for sure that based on the breaking news coming through now; 149 for the NPP and 126 for the NDC in the parliamentary results coming through in all 275 constituencies. We can make that projection here on your Election Command Centre,” Alfred Ocansey, a TV 3 journalist said.

Meanwhile, the management of TV 3 on Monday, December 14, 2020 issued a statement to explain that the projections were made on the information they “had received at a particular time”.

The statement read, “The projections which were made were not in any way intended to be the definitive results of the elections. It must be noted that the projections were changed from time to time as we received new information, which were analysed.”

“Our election coverage was not intended to favour any political party or candidate and any contrary perception is deeply regretted. We take this opportunity to assure our audience and other stakeholders, including political parties, of our continued commitment to provide balance and impartial reportage,” the statement concluded.