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SaS and Most-Hid Claim STV Ignoring Them to Maintain Status Quo
Friday 09 April 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, April 9 (TASR) - Extra-parliamentary parties Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and Most-Hid on Friday announced their protest against the most recent decision of the public-service Slovak Television (STV) to invite only parliamentary parties to their 5 Minutes to 12 programme to present themselves as part of the election campaign.
"How many times have opinion polls shown that LS-HZDS may not necessarily get into parliament but our two parties may well do," Most-Hid chairman Bela Bugar told reporters regarding the decision providing airtime to the party of Vladimir Meciar, which sometimes polls below the 5-percent threshold required to enter Parliament.
SaS and Most-Hid are requesting that STV alter the structure of the planned 5 Minutes to 12 programme as it (excluding SaS and Most-Hid) interferes in the competition between political parties in the lead-up to the elections. We expect a reply within a week – that is by April 16. Failing that, the two parties also plan to appeal to the Slovak Broadcast Council(RVR).
One of SaS's top-listed candidates Daniel Krajcer, a former broadcaster with both Markiza and Joj, suggested that the pre-election practice of television networks in Slovakia as well as abroad is to give parties airtime based on their opinion poll support. "Can anyone of you imagine that then-extra parliamentary parties Smer-SD in 2002 or SNS in 2006 would not have been invited to discussion programmes," said Krajcer. In his view, STV is helping entrench the incumbent parties in the legislature.
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