South Africa’s public broadcaster has said it refused to broadcast a campaign message from the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) as it incited violence.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) denied that it was banned because it came from the EFF.
The advert calls for people to “destroy e-Tolls”, a controversial new road tolling system.
The EFF, set up by ex-ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, is contesting an election for the first time next month.
‘Unfair coverage’
Mr Malema likened the SABC’s actions to those used by the apartheid government, which censored messages with anti-government sentiment.
“Once you suppress the people contesting elections it means you not ready to give us free and fair elections because unfair coverage leads to unfair elections,” he told reporters in Johannesburg.
However, SABC spokesman Kaiser Kganyago said it was to do with regulations, not politics.
“They submitted it, we looked at it, and we found that we couldn’t put it on air,” the South African Press Association news agency quotes him as saying.
“The EFF, like any other political party, signed the code of conduct with the IEC [Independent Election Commission] that says it will not incite violence…. [the advert] goes against the code.”
The SABC has reportedly written to the EFF telling them to amend the advert, but the party has refused to do so.
wirestory
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