TAP News Agency and the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) signed a promising partnership agreement on Friday, July 21 ahead of the forthcoming elections.
The first of its kind between the agency and the electoral authority, this partnership has taken shape in the text of a five-clause agreement which comes into force on Friday 21 July, the date of its signature.
The main points of the agreement are as follows: The agency has been entrusted with the task of ensuring coverage of current events, the activities of the electoral authority and the electoral timetable, through its various written, electronic and audiovisual media.
Under the terms of this agreement, TAP will also publish ISIE press releases relating to the electoral process and the decisions of its council, in addition to preparing and broadcasting recordings in the form of interviews, awareness-raising spots, events and activities via the agency's dedicated Multimedia Desk.
Under the terms of the agreement, TAP will devote a separate section to its news website, featuring the ISIE logo and the various news items relating to it, in addition to preparing interviews in its studio at its head office.
The agency will also cover the activities of the ISIE's regional authorities, as well as developments and events relating to the local elections.
As far as ISIE is concerned, the authority is committed to providing the Agency with information, data and statistics on an ad hoc and exclusive basis, just as it is committed to making available to TAP a space reserved for the Agency within the Convention Centre in Tunis, for broadcasting results, convention activities, press briefings and other activities.
Speaking at the ceremony, ISIE President Farouk Bouasker stressed the importance of cooperation with TAP, pointing out that the agency was highly regarded by the public for its objective, impartial and professional coverage.
The partnership agreement, which is the first of its kind between TAP and the ISIE, is intended to ensure the success of the forthcoming elections, in particular the establishment of a second parliamentary chamber.
After reviewing the preparations made by the ISIE for the forthcoming elections, the President of the ISIE emphasised the major importance of this agreement in communicating the clear position of the authority to the general public, as well as its image both inside and outside the country, given the vagueness surrounding a number of points relating to its activities.
For his part, TAP CEO, Najeh Missaoui, expressed the agency's determination to contribute to consolidating the foundations of the democratic process in Tunisia, by ensuring impartial and objective coverage of the forthcoming elections.
He added that the agency has a vast network of regional bureaus and local correspondents, which enables it to cover all of the ISIE's activities, thereby helping to support the democratic process by providing impartial and balanced coverage that respects the ethics of the journalistic profession.
He also recalled the agreements signed between TAP and international news agencies, as well as TAP's chairmanship of the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies (AMAN), pointing out that anything published on TAP's news feed concerning the elections will be picked up by other news agencies, thus promoting wider coverage of the elections.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse