The National Electoral Commission (CNE) accused the RTP of treating candidates differently in the European elections in response to the participation of the National Democratic Alternative (ADN).
The party, chaired by Bruno Fialho, complained about the lack of a “public radio and television service” to present the head of the list to the European Parliament, Joana Amaral Díaz.
In a report presented on 22 April, the CNE questioned whether there was any justification for the RTP to cover the candidacies of Chegi, IL, Livre and PAN, parties “without representation in the European Parliament”, and not to cover the candidacies of the ADN.
More than 100 thousand votes in the March legislative elections and the notoriety of Joana Amaral Dias, “known to most Portuguese and regularly present on Portuguese television,” were other arguments cited to justify journalistic interest in the event. at the Armed Forces Disabled Association in Lisbon, 18 April.
According to CNE, RTP never specified “how it reported the ADN candidacy (…) and what editorial criteria led to the coverage, or lack thereof, of various candidacies” in the European elections.
“The conduct of the RTP is not in accordance with the spirit of constitutional norms and suggests a different attitude towards candidates who do not have a constitutional basis,” the statement said on Friday.