L. Election campaign provisions
Article 53(2) prohibits “abuse of mass media freedom” by giving a number of examples, which includes “use of photo and video materials with the images of politicians and statesmen of other countries and other forms of abuse of mass media freedom”. Article 53(5) also retains the current right to reply or refute defamatory material “on demand” by the offended candidate or political party. These limitations on political opinions prevent a robust and vigorous campaign, which is critical to election campaigning in a democracy. In the context of a political campaign, in which candidates make a conscious decision to enter the public sphere to compete for public office, a law for the protection of the reputation or rights of others cannot be applied to limit, diminish, or suppress a person’s right to free political expression and speech.[1] The OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission previously recommended that these provisions be amended to comply with international standards. The recommendation remains unaddressed.
[1] See, e.g., Oberschlick v. Austria, Case No. 6/1990/197/257, European Court of Human Rights (23 May 1991); Lopes Gomes Da Silva v. Portugal, Application No. 37698/97 European Court of Human Rights (28 September 2000); Bowman v. The United Kingdom, Case No. 141/1996/760/961, European Court of Human Rights (19 February 1998); Incal v. Turkey, Application No. 41/1997/825/1031, European Court of Human Rights (9 June 1998).