The Broadcasting Authority & its Chief Executive were not much of a broadcasting watchdog during the recent electoral campaign. Rampant abuses took place to the utter disgust of many by the two principal political parties. The Authority failed to take any action demonstrating its infra structural weakness when it relates to issues involving directly the Political Parties that have monopolized our Parliament since 1964, Malta`s Year of Independence.

As bound by its own Broadcasting Regulations, the BA draws up a Political Schedule leading to the Elections where each different participant is supposedly allocated air-time to diffuse the various Political Programmes. The BA treated the smaller entities dismally because but for a ridiculous five minutes [ YES: a ludicrous 5 Minutes ! ] the tiny Parties were completely left out of the Political Schedule. By smaller entities I refer to Alpha Liberal Democratic Party, Imperium Ewropa, Forza Malta, Partit Gozitano, and the Independent candidate.

The PN & MLP had unlimited resources with their own extensive media organizations pumping out propaganda in every single programme in the weeks leading to the Elections, apart from very generous allocations in the Schedule by the Broadcasting Authority whose Board consists of four Members nominated by the two main Parties plus a Chairman appointed by the Prime Minister allegedly after consultations by the Leader of the Opposition.All roads lead to total dominance by the two main Parties.

The Alternattiva & Azzjoni [ whose leaders have since fizzed out in that capacity ] had extensive coverage apparently against payment, directly and / or indirectly, in other sections of the local media.They equally had generous participation in the BA`s Broadcasting Schedule.

Those participating as candidates in the General Elections apart from above were completely ignored not only by the BA but were not even invited to participate in other programmes on the local media.Blame can only be assigned for this glaring lack of impartiality and imbalance to the Broadcasting Authority and its Chief Executive who failed as their obligations necessitated to provide adequate safeguards and facilities for the political minnows to make their voice heard and their political objectives explained.

Had the political minnows the financial resources,the BA & its Chief Executive would have been sued for being partial and unbalanced in their Political Schedules as well as in their main function as Broadcasting Watchdog.

In the circumstances, the Broadcasting Authority`s Board and its Chief Executive should resign with immediate effect. Furthermore, the next BA Board should include independent representatives that in no way might effect their judgement as to the influence that the major Parties could have on them.This is Constitutionally feasible.

The Chairman has to be selected by representatives of entities contesting the General Elections.In this matter, the Constitution would have to be emended.The Political Sovereign is now truly getting fed up of the constant abuses being perpetrated in the name of Democracy and Transparency which concepts have turned extremely doubtful particularly in the light of how situations were handled in the throes of the General Elections.

During the 2008 General Elections, the Broadcasting Authority & its CEO have mildly-put disappointed in their constitutional performance. Clearly this is another aspect which the competent political authorities must now rectify. The EU Parliamentary Elections are not that far off, but distanced adequately for the situation to be remedied at law and in fact insofar as the BA is concerned.

The Electorate was disgusted by the way the Election Campaign was conducted by the main Parties with the BA remaining completely silent in the face of outright legal abuses.Pity that on the wave of such irregularities, sections of the Electorate thought fit to elect some candidates to our highest legal institution: the House of Representatives!


Yours truly :

Emmy Bezzina
Alpha Liberal Democratic Party.
alpha@emmybezzina.org.