Justice chancellor disagrees with Richness of Life Party - PM
15 Feb 2019 EWR Online
Artur Talvik. PHOTO: Sander Ilvest
The fact the Richness of Life Party (ERE) was excluded from public broadcaster ERR’s “Valimisstuudio” elections debate is not unconstitutional, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise finds.
The party turned to Madise in early February to check constitutionality of the procedure for covering the elections campaign laid down by ERR’s supervisory board.
The party maintains the organization’s decision not to include them in its elections debate constitutes discrimination and finds different treatment of ERE to be unconstitutional.
ERR’s procedure for covering the parliamentary elections, approved in December last, designates that four 75-minute episodes of the “Valimisstuudio” program will only feature parties that will meet elections with a full list of 125 candidates. ERE, that registered a list of 73 candidates, believes the decision discriminates against the party.
The public broadcaster explained the decision through its obligation to ensure journalistic content and observability in elections debates. ERR wrote in its explanation to the justice chancellor that the debate procedure applies to all television and radio channels, as well as its online news portal, which is why the procedure needs to be treated as a whole. This whole must give all parties that participate in elections a chance to present their positions.
