Home > 1.3 Free suffrage > ALBANIA - Joint Recommendations on the Electoral Law and the Electoral Administration
 
 
 
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Paragraph 74
 

Article 137 requires that, during political airtime of news broadcasts, the Public Radio and Television Broadcaster must apply an equal time ratio for all parliamentary parties that in the previous parliamentary elections have obtained up to 20% of the seats in the Parliament. For those parties that have obtained more than 20% of the seats, the airtime, which is allocated equally, is doubled. This text in clause (1) led to problems during the 2003 local government elections. It was interpreted in such a way that the main parties were given twice the air time of all other parties together, while the text appears to indicate that parties with more than 20% in the Assembly are entitled to twice the amount of airtime that is allocated to each smaller party individually.[41]  The OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission recommend that Article 137 be clarified so that it is clear that the latter interpretation is the legal principle codified in the law.