ABBA Announces It Is Boycotting ‘Farcical’ Broadcasting Authority Election Debate
The political party ABBA has announced it intends to boycott the Broadcasting Authority’s debates in the lead-up to the European Parliament election, warning the schedule seriously favours PL and PN candidates.
“If the BA under Joanna Spiteri wants to submit to whatever the PN and PL tell her do, that’s up to them,” ABBA leader Ivan Grech Mintoff said. “However ABBA isn’t ready to be used to break the laws and protect PL and PN candidates from tough questions in a discriminatory manner.”
The Broadcasting Authority is organising a series of debates in the coming weeks. The plan is to hold four hour-long debates between candidates, an hour-long debate between Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech, an hour-long debate between representatives of ADPD, Imperium Europa, ABBA, and Volt, and a 45-minute debate between independent candidates.
PL and PN will also each get an hour of political promotion spots, while ADPD, IE, ADPD and Volt will only get 15-minutes each, Small parties will also get three minutes of messages each, while independents will get five minutes each.
However, Grech Mintoff questioned why candidates from ABBA and other small parties won’t get to share a platform with candidates from PL and PN.
“We insist on a debate during which all parties can make their voices heard and are given equal air time, and and during which we can ask important questions in the names of those who have rejected both major parties.”
He said that ABBA intends to file a judicial protest and is considering opening a constitutional case, along with Norman Lowell’s Imperium Europa, if the situation isn’t resolved.
Grech Mintoff isn’t the only candidate to criticise the debate schedule Independent candidate Edwin Vassallo denounced it as “censorship of any thought that is an alternative to the political establishment”, while fellow independent Arnold Cassola warned the BA has shown it has “zero credibility in ensuring a truly pluralistic public broadcasting process which is fair to all”.
Do you think the debate schedule is fair?
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