Every day is a new opportunity to tell a story. Short or long, stories are always relevant. And with elections, your story needs to be very compelling.
The stories are told by political parties, politicians, and of course the body in charge of the entire electoral process, and in Uganda’s case, the electoral commission.
Printing is the largest and most relevant media when it winds down to the electoral journey. Everyone wants a leaflet, poster, and the Electoral Commission wants ballot papers.
Uganda is slowly hitting into electoral, save for the social distancing protocols inspired by the novel coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world in all corners. Nevertheless, the EC gave a green light to the proceedings.
Political parties and their candidates alike tend to find the media, and in particular television, more and more important for campaigning and seek to appear as much as possible on the television. See this would’ve held water if Uganda were as developed and technologically apt as we want it to be.
Printing, on the other hand, in Uganda, is widely regarded as the most important instrument for campaigning and communication to the voters in countries with widespread coverage and audience.
Printing media has a role to inform the citizens about the competing political parties and their programs and candidates, and to contribute to the formation of the opinion of the electorate. This may include formal voter education material provided by the electoral commission; alternatively or additionally, the media themselves may produce their voter education materials.
Voter education programs rely heavily on printed materials. Printing provides a fast and cheap way of preparing large volumes of material. Most countries have printing facilities and various qualities of paper available, although some transitional settings may find both paper and ink to be in short supply.
This section of the topic area provides information on different ways in which printed material can be prepared and used. It also provides basic information on an aspect of materials production that is ignored too frequently by those who produce it, especially those in civil society, i.e. legal, copyright, and identification issues.
The situation in Uganda:
“The Commission will avail nomination forms on its website that can be printed by those with access to the internet. However, for those with no access to the internet, hard copies will be availed. Important to note is that we will only allow an aspiring candidate with only two (2) people; the nominator and a seconder.”
Technology is not as advanced in the pearl and there one too many allowances for those with imbalanced access. But whichever way you look at it, print media is lurking around.
Digital election materials are going to be a thing of “new normal” and it requires a dedicated and creative team to help you design the material that will not only tell your story but also help you stand out. These do include the initial call for nominations to ballot papers, covering letters and e-newsletters, helping you capture voter interest early, helping to improve engagement, maximize turnout, and ensure a healthy democratic process.
The way stories are going to be told in this campaign period is not one we have seen before. We are bound to embrace new practices and the good news is, quality print media work is more relevant than ever.
