“The debates will take place as scheduled on the three generalist channels, starting on Monday”Bernardo Ferrão told Lusa.
“In fact, the ERC’s deliberation in no way prevents them”concluded the person in charge.
The deliberation by the ERC Regulatory Council takes place just a few days before the presidential debates begin and following “the assessment of the complaint filed by Medialivre, SA, owner of the CMTV and News Now program services, against RTP, SIC and TVI”.
In the complaint, “Medialivre alleged that, in the agreement signed between RTP, SIC and TVI, to organize a set of debates between in-person candidates, there is a violation of the duties of pluralism, the right to information and equal treatment between operators, arguing that this agreement would have the effect of excluding access from its program services to an event of a political nature of national and electoral relevance”, states the ERC.
After analyzing the case, “and taking into account the specificities of presidential elections, the Regulatory Council considered that the joint holding of electoral debates could constitute a valid solution to ensure pluralism and informative diversity during electoral periods”.
However, “it highlighted that such articulation must be guided by a logic of complementarity and expansion of the media space, with the inclusion of relevant operators in the television ecosystem being desirable and expressing their willingness to take part in the organization of debates”, adds the ERC, in the statement.
In this way, “the ERC therefore recommends to operators RTP, SIC and TVI that the model for organizing debates for the 2026 presidential elections includes articulation with other relevant operators who intend to contribute to the expansion of the information space in terms of electoral debates, especially the complainant, with a view to pursuing pluralism, diversity and citizens’ right to information during the electoral period”.