MANS filed complaints with the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC) against several TV and radio stations that failed to submit price lists for political advertising within the legal deadline in the pre-election campaign for the parliamentary elections to be held in August this year.
The Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns stipulates that price lists on political advertising must be submitted within ten days from the date of calling an election, or in the case of this year’s parliamentary elections, by July 3.
The complaints MANS filed relate to TV Pink, RTV Budva, RTV Rožaje, RTV Nikšić, Serbian Radio and Television, radio stations Antena M, S1 and S2 from Herceg Novi, Radio Titograd, Radio Elmag, Radio Mag, Radio Bar, and the web portal PV Informer. In addition to these media, complaints were filed against two billboard advertising companies, CG Media from Berane and Budva Media, which also submitted price lists after the legal deadline.
The mentioned media submitted their price lists after June 30, which created the condition for APC to ban them from providing media advertising services during the election campaign, in accordance with Article 16 of the Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns.
MANS also asked APC to remove all price lists that were not submitted in accordance with the Law, so as not to mislead the participants in the election process, and initiate misdemeanour proceedings in case some of the mentioned media provides media advertising campaign services.
Fines for the media that provide services to political parties in this way range from 5 to 20 thousand Euros for a legal entity.
The legal deadline for APC to decide on most of these complaints expires in two weeks, which is why we urge the Agency to act promptly and not allow us to wait for its decisions until the end of the election campaign.
We hereby inform all participants in the election process that advertising in the mentioned media would mean a drastic violation of the Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns.
MANS
