REGULATING MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN

UNCLAS BOGOTA 011700 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KPAO CO SUBJECT: REGULATING MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN REF: A. BOGOTA 11460 ¶B. BOGOTA 10892 ¶C. BOGOTA 10686 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On November 27, President Uribe announced his intention to run for reelection. Uribe's 90-minute radio interview on November 29 caused debate, as National Electoral Council (CNE) head Guillermo Mejia questioned equality of access for opposition candidates. A separate CNE magistrate and regular contact, Guillermo Reyes, told us the CNE is still debating press coverage rules and guidelines, and that Mejia's remarks caused an unnecessary stir, as no opposition candidate had formally complained about Uribe's interview. The CNE cannot sanction candidates for breaking electoral rules; the Council of State would handle complaints after the election is held. We expect to see constant back-and-forth in the media over whether the opposition can compete on a level playing field against Uribe. However, major opposition parties receive a decent amount of major media coverage, and perhaps even more than would be expected given their relatively weak polling standing. End Summary. ¶2. (U) As required under the Electoral Guarantees Law (see Refs B and C),President Uribe formally announced his intention to run for reelection on November 27. The formal Presidential campaign will run from January 28 until election day, May 28. Uribe is collecting signatures for his candidacy (rather than running as candidate of a particular party). He requires valid signatures from approximately 350,000 voting age Colombians, or four percent of the total number of votes cast for President in the 2002 elections. Uribe will have no trouble attaining the required number of signatures. ¶3. (SBU) A first media flare-up occurred the week of November 28, after Caracol Radio ran a 90-minute interview of Uribe, by then a declared Presidential candidate. National Electoral Council (CNE) Chief Magistrate Guillermo Mejia criticized both Uribe and Caracol for running the interview, which Mejia called excessive in length. Mejia also faulted Caracol for not giving equal response time (called for, in the case of TV and radio, by the Electoral Guarantees Law) to opposition Presidential aspirants. While Mejia himself admitted publicly to having committed an error by pre-judging the issue, his remarks remain at the center of the debate. ¶4. (SBU) In a subsequent meeting with a regular CNE contact, Guillermo Reyes (who presided over the CNE during the October 2003 state and local elections and Uribe's national referendum) told poloff that Mejia had created a controversy where none had existed. First, according to Reyes, no member of the opposition had formally complained about the interview. Second, no opposition nominee could be given equal response time, as the formal launch date of the campaign is January 28 and only Uribe, at present, is a declared candidate. Reyes told us that the CNE as a body would be issuing a directive in the near term calling upon media to offer adequate "rebuttal" opportunity to opposition Presidential nominees. Reyes felt, however, that the CNE would not insist on exact equality (minutes for TV/radio or lines for print media) of rebuttal coverage. Reyes stressed that the CNE cannot enforce sanctions against candidates, and noted that the Council of State (Consejo de Estado; one of three roughly co-equal Colombian high courts) will decide the merits of electoral complaints, but only after the elections. ¶5. (U) Major media outlets have expressed concern over their own ability to appropriately determine coverage for Uribe as President versus Uribe as candidate. However, on December 14, Constitutional Court President Manuel Jose Cepeda, responding to a request by several media outlets for a clarification of media coverage issues in the Electoral Guarantees Law, stated that the CNE could not demand exact minute-for-minute TV and/or radio coverage for all candidates. Cepeda did state that the media should guarantee access, however, to all candidates. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The debate caused by Mejia was only the first of many we expect as Colombia charts new waters under the scenario of immediate Presidential reelection. Uribe maintains a commanding lead in all polls and the opposition will likely continue to state publicly that he maintains an inherent and unfair advantage owing to incumbency. However, major opposition parties such as the Liberals (PLC) and Polo Democratico Alternativo (PDA) receive prominent coverage in the daily newspaper El Tiempo, the weekly newspaper El Espectador, and the weekly news magazines. WOOD