Wrangles over airtime on state media in election run-up

Malawi's public broadcaster has denied claims by opposition parties that the state media were giving preference to the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) in the lead-up to the May elections. Malawi television's head of news, Wellington Kuntaja, on Thursday said the accusations were "unsubstantiated" and the station had "policies in place which afforded sufficient time to opposition parties". "Any independent assessment of our news bulletins over the past year will show that opposition parties are well-represented. When the election campaign formally begins we will ensure that each party will have equitable time on air to present their manifestoes. However, opposition parties cannot expect to have the same airtime as the ruling party during our regular broadcasts," he told IRIN. UDF publicity secretary Ken Lipenga said the latest salvo launched by the opposition was a sign of political opportunism as momentum gathered in the presidential race. "As we move towards elections, the opposition parties will take every opportunity to complain about something or the other. We have heard this complaint before and have responded by saying that neither the government nor the UDF has told anyone at the public broadcaster not to interview members of the opposition or cover their events," Lipenga added. The Public Affairs Committee (PAC), a civil rights NGO, has filed a court case against the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation over the issue. PAC executive director Charles Mapapa told IRIN: "We are concerned over how the country's state radio and television is being used. We assumed that in a multiparty democracy everyone would have equal and fair access to the national broadcaster, but what we see now is a monopoly. Even when there isn't an election, the government dominates our television screens." The upcoming May presidential and legislative elections are expected to be hotly contested, as President Bakili Muluzi is retiring after failed attempts to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. Last month two people were wounded when police fired shots during an opposition rally in the southern city of Blantyre.