Thanks to the position that the Agency for Prevention of Corruption (APC) took during the campaign for the latest parliamentary elections in 2020, political parties again have the opportunity to advertise on Pink M television, at rates and conditions that are not available to the public.
For several days now, this television has been broadcasting political marketing blocks every hour for a duration of three minutes, but it is not known at what price political parties rent that space and whether the conditions are the same for all election participants, because there is no price list at the website of the APC related to the lease of media space on that television.
Bearing in mind that it is a television registered outside of Montenegro, such practice creates a vast space for hidden funding from the abroad.
During 2020 elections, advertising space on Pink M was sold to political parties by the company “Pink Media M”. After MANS reported that it was not doing it in accordance with law and the price list, APC’s position was that this company was not obliged to publish the advertising price list, since, according to their interpretation, it did not provide media advertising services.
Instead of determining that this is without a doubt selling of the media space for advertising of political parties in the election campaign, APC dealt with determining whether the company that sold that advertising space to them was itself a media outlet.
Such decisions of APC represent an arbitrary and harmful interpretation of legal norms that directly affect the transparency of financing election campaigns, and it is quite certain that it will have its own impact when it comes to upcoming local elections.
Namely, at the moment, political parties are being advertised on Pink M television without hindrance, and without a published price list, there is no obligation to offer the same prices and advertising terms to all political entities.
Monitoring of the advertising for local elections conducted by MANS shows that so far, lists “Za Budućnost”, led by the Democratic Front coalition, and “Idemo ljudi” led by Democratic Montenegro, are being advertised.
In order to ensure full compliance with the laws governing the financing of election campaigns, MANS will once again file a report to the APC and the Council of that institution with a request to revise the position that is now directly contributing to the creation of a vast space for manipulations and unlawful funding of the elections.
MANS
