PN files protest against Broadcasting Authority

The Nationalist Party has filed a judicial protest in the Civil Court against the Broadcasting Authority over the broadcast of information spots on the European Union.

The PN claimed the Malta Labour Party had complained about the information spots broadcast by the MIC and the authority had authorised the MLP to broadcast spots on the public broadcasting media by using one-third of the time originally allocated to MIC.

The PN had then requested the Broadcasting Authority to give it the same time allocated to the MLP to broadcast its own spots.

Its request was based on the provisions of the Constitution which stipulated that the authority had to ensure that broadcasting facilities and time were allocated in a suitable manner between persons of different political parties.

The PN declared that MIC was a public entity and not a political party, and that, as a result, there was no balance between the political parties if the PN was not accorded the same broadcasting time and facilities as the MLP.

At present the MLP was being given broadcasting time and facilities while the PN was being denied the same.

This certainly created an imbalance in favour of the MLP rather than the suitable allocation of time and facilities in terms of the Constitution.

The PN called on the authority to immediately fulfil its constitutional obligations and halt the imbalance it had created.

Dr Joseph Zammit Maempel signed the protest.