clearly distinguished from editorial content. Before and after each party election broadcast there should be a clear statement identifying it as such. Where media give political parties time slots to air programmes setting out their policies to voters, the content of the programmes will primarily be the responsibility of the party. However, the broadcaster remains responsible for the broadcast as publisher and should require candidates and political parties to obey laws which may not impinge on freedom of expression, but instead observe standards that pertain to accuracy and fairness. 6. Converged media With rapidly evolving ICTs, traditional media is expanding into the new and social media sphere and media outlets have a responsibility to extend the application of journalistic principles to these diverse platforms. Specifically, the use of social media in election coverage of conventional media should take into account the following: a) Journalistic standards and ethics still apply. b) Journalists using social media platforms in their personal as well as professional capacity should try to separate the two as their audience might not be able to differentiate. In conclusion, journalists should not be seduced by the informality of social media and compromise their integrity and professionalism. 7. Polls a) Opinion Polls Opinion polls are an important element in election coverage because they are one way of determining public attitudes toward(s) issues, candidates and parties. In this regard they can enrich coverage and enable voters to get a fuller picture of an election. In reporting, opinion polls media need to reveal which party, individual or organisation commissioned and paid for the poll, the purposes of the poll, the identity of the polling organisation and its expertise in polling, the nature of the questions or issues the poll focused on, the geographic coverage and demographic profile of those who were polled, the methodologies used in polling including details of the sample and the margin of error which will contextualise the poll results. b) Exit polls Reporting of exit polls should be clearly identified as such and not as a reflection of how all voters have actually voted and what the outcome of the election will be. The reporting should reveal a sample of the exit poll, the organisation that conducted and financed it, its methodologies and the margin of error. Results of exit polls should not be announced orbbroadcast until after the last polling stations have closed. 8. Reporting results Media covering elections are obliged to inform the electorate of the election results in a comprehensive way, as they become available, whether provisional or final, as released by the Electoral Management Body. Journalists should take special care when predicting final results based on partial results available. When reporting on parallel vote tabulation, journalist should be aware that parallel vote tabulation is an estimation of final results of an election based on the collection and aggregation of election results obtained at polling station level. This collection can be complete (all polling stations) or based on a random sample (selected polling stations). While parallel vote tabulation have a solid level of statistical validity, journalists must exercise caution, care and responsibility in reporting parallel vote tabulation to avoid confusing or mixing up official tallies and parallel tabulation. In reporting parallel vote tabulation media need to reveal which So This is Democracy? 2014 123