Coverage of presidential election: NCC urges journalists to demonstrate professionalism, responsibility.

He made the call in Yaounde last Thursday. This was during a press conference held to ensure a responsible and balanced media coverage that abides by the principles of equality, fairness, and pluralism.

Chebongkeng said the press conference was held to share NCCs observations, analyses, and recommendations with media professionals.

He said the observations listed to the media persons are part of efforts to draw the attention of media practitioners to several crucial points, which have been reported to the NCC by the public and candidates.

Chebongkeng added that the council has been informed of vandalism targeting the campaign posters of some candidates, and appeals for mutual tolerance.

“The Council has noted several critical situations across a range of traditional and online media platforms, involving equal access to the media for all candidates and the potential impact of published information on social cohesion,” Chebongkeng said.

Citing breaches from some media organs, the Council urged the managers of the organs to immediately cease violating the four principles and only allow candidates or their representatives to speak.

He said: “The Council vehemently objects this practice, which violates the measures set out by the regulator. The regulator requires all audio-visual media operating in Cameroon to halt all other political programmes during the electoral campaign, leaving airtime exclusively for election propaganda and discussions between candidates or their representatives designed to help voters make an informed choice”.

Stating that the Council reserves the right to impose appropriate sanctions on the media organs breaching the principles, Chebongkeng reminded media organs that a healthy electoral competition is reserved exclusively for candidates and their representatives to guide voters in making informed choices.

“Consequently, the Council urges the managers of media organs to immediately cease these practices and only allow candidates or their representatives to speak,” Chebongkeng stated.

Citing breaches by print media organs, the NCC boss said “a generalised failure to adhere to the principle of equality among candidates in print media has been seen as almost 30 newspapers published on Monday, 29 September 2025, all exclusively dedicated their front page to the activities of the CPDM”. 

He added that in the columns of the print media organs, they provided unbalanced coverage of information relating to the various candidates, thus showing a lack of consideration for the principle of equality.

Calling on the attention of all public and private media organisations to the issue, Chebongkeng said a greater professionalism and more responsible reporting is vital for ensuring calm and objective media coverage of the presidential election campaign leading up to 12 October 2025. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3586 of Monday October 06, 2025