Electoral reforms media limits condemned

MORE TRANSPARENCY in the election process to determine, among other things, how parties are funded was called for by human rights and constitutional law expert Catalina Botero on Thursday, February 25.

She was speaking at an event organized by the National Council of Journalists and the Forum of Journalists to discuss the limits of media expression in the electoral reforms.

Botero  highlighted the fact that the electoral reforms are subject to a broad debate prior to their adoption.

Botero opposed  the content of the proposal which establishes that the Tribunal Electoral can close a media company  immediately for violating election rules.

“What does closing immediately mean? Nobody should be able to do that,” she said.

She added that this does not mean that the media should not be held responsible for what they publish. However, she said that closing media outlets would create distortions in public opinion.

Fellow human rights expert Felipe González said the closure of media is a form of censorship that could have a huge impact on the public debate.

Guillermo Antonio Adames, of the National Council of Journalists, said it was regrettable that the Electoral Tribunal (TE) judges declined to attend the event.