
The Bureau of Social Research (BIRODI) announced that it proposed an instruction for reporting on the President of Serbia, which stipulates that journalists should not ask the President questions that do not concern his constitutional powers.
In a statement, BIRODI stated that it submitted the instruction to the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), members of parliament, members of the Working Group for the Improvement of Electoral Conditions, members of ProGlas, international partners and the media.
As stated, the draft instructions on reporting on the President of the Republic should be adopted by the REM Council, in accordance with the legal powers of Article 29 of the Law on Electronic Media.
In the draft, the media service provider is recommended to report on the President of the Republic by respecting the constitutional order of the Republic of Serbia, i.e. by providing true, complete and timely information on the activities of the President of the Republic and the Government of Serbia in accordance with the Constitution and the powers of the President of the Republic defined by law.
„It is recommended that journalists who are employed by media service providers report on the President of the Republic by not asking questions and sub-questions to the President of the Republic that do not concern the constitutional powers of the President of the Republic,“ the draft adds.
Also, the document recommends that media service providers do not broadcast media content that is contrary to the powers of the President of the Republic, i.e. media content in which the President of the Republic represents other state bodies and officials or expresses his views.
„In the event that the President of the Republic expresses his views on participants in party life, he will be signed as a party member and/or a political party official,“ the draft suggested.
In the explanation of the draft, it is stated that the instruction represents the operationalization of recommendation number five of the Observation Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which indicates the need for the law to „ensure a clear separation between public functions and the campaign activities of the holders of those functions“.
„The authorities should take measures to prevent the abuse of position and state resources, and resolve all violations proactively through proportional and dissuasive sanctions,“ the ODIHR recommendation says.
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