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