Radio Deggo FM hosts live call-in radio as it covers 2018 LG elections

Radio Deggo FM (100.10 MHz) has started its coverage of the Local Government and Municipal Councils elections scheduled for April 12, 2018.

In particular, Radio Deggo FM has invited all political parties and a number of Independent candidates to live call-in programs to be broadcast in five languages.

According to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), there are 208 candidates in Radio Deggo FM Target Area. Nine political parties fielded 188 candidates out of the 208 candidates, and the remaining 20 candidates are running as Independents. Radio Deggo FM divided the 70 one hour program slots it has scheduled for live call-in programs among the parties and the Independent candidates on the basis of their proportion of the total number of candidates in the station’s Target Area.

Accordingly, UDP, with the greatest number of candidates (54) in the Target Area was allocated 18 programs, while the AFPRC, with 45 candidates was allocated 15 slots. The NCP, with one candidate in the Target Area was assigned one slot.

As a group, the Independent candidates got 7 slots, and as such, 7 Independent candidates were randomly selected from the 20 of them. Radio Deggo FM asked the political parties to select which of their candidates would participate in the call-in programs, and invited Independent candidates to participate in the programs. The one hour programs are broadcast daily from Tuesday, April 3rd to Tuesday, April 10th and exclusively in English (10 AM), Mandinka (11 AM), Wollof (12 Noon), Fula (3 PM), and Jola (4 PM). The only exceptions are Friday (April 6) which is the Muslim Holy day, and Sun. (April 8) at 10 AM when a Christian program is scheduled for broadcast. The live programs are recorded and re-broadcast daily from 6 PM to 11 PM, in the order they were aired, starting with English and ending with Jola.

The schedule of programs for the election coverage is attached to this press release.

Each program is scheduled to host two candidates and/or representatives from different political parties or Independent candidates. It is expected that the programs will help candidates better inform voters about their political platforms, enable voters engage the candidates in dialogs about their aspirations, and generally help strengthen democracy in The Gambia.

The lessons learned from the programs will also help Radio Deggo FM better plan its coverage of the May 2018 Mayoral elections.

ABOUT RADIO DEGGO FM (100.10 MHz) Radio Deggo FM is a new radio station aimed at providing quality educational programs to listeners. The initial Target Area of the station is the western part of The Gambia, namely, Banjul, and Kanifing Municipality, as well as parts of the West Coast Region (the Kombos and Foni Brefet), and the North Bank Region (the Niumis and Jokadu).

Radio Deggo FM broadcasts live, one hour call-in programs each hour exclusively in English, Mandinka, Wollof from 10 AM to 1 PM, and in Fula, and Jola from 3 PM to 5 PM from Monday to Friday.

The station’s program schedule is also themed, with a focus on health on Mondays, youths (Tuesdays), government and development (Wednsdays), women’s issues (Thursdays), and Islamic affairs (Fridays). Saturdays are dedicated to sports, entertainment and trades, while the theme for Sundays is Christian religious issues.