Alternattiva Demokratika has requested an immediate meeting with the Broadcasting Authority to discuss how PBS will be allotting airtime to political parties in its current affairs programmes during the electoral campaign.

AD general secretary Ralph Cassar said in a statement the BA had already issued a directive on current affairs programmes to other television stations and AD expected that this directive, which granted it access to all stations including the political ones, was applied.

Deputy chairman Carmel Cacopardo said that AD primarily wanted to ensure that its views were adequately represented on Xarabank, Bondi+, Dissett and TVAM, as well as on other programmes.

To date, he said, AD had been allotted eight minutes in comparison to the 50 minutes each allotted to the PN and PL representatives in discussion programmes between leaders/deputy leaders on Xarabank.  This was unreasonable and unacceptable, he said.

Mr Cacopardo said that AD was granted limited access on Dissett consisting of short pre-recorded comments and it was rarely invited to take park in Bondi+.

AD, he said, expected PBS to give it airtime and that the BA, through PBS, restored the imbalance created by the political stations.

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