DATE: 2009-03-22
Seven political parties signed agreements with Television Maldives and Voice of Maldives on Friday to buy airtime for campaigning.
The agreement, which states 15 minutes of airtime would cost Rf2500, was signed by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), People’s Party (PP), People’s Alliance (PA), Jumhooree Party (JP), Quaumee Party, and the Social Liberal Party (SLP).
Speaking at the function held at Voice of Maldives, the Managing Director of Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) Ibrahim Khaleel said that the offer was open for all political parties but that the opportunity would be available only to those parties that attended the function to sign the agreement.
Khaleel further said that the political program would still be named “Siyaasee Fenda” and that the opportunity had not been made available because of the upcoming parliamentary elections. He said that political parties will always have messages that they wanted to convey to the public and so it was their way of facilitating the process.
Those parties that signed the agreement would be given equal opportunity until 4th of April; after that only those members who are contesting in the parliamentary elections would be given the airtime, Khaleel said.
Although the Islamic Democratic Party had also sent a representative to the function, IDP’s Ahmed Niyaz had crossed out the agreed airtime buying rate on the agreement before signing it. The IDP’s agreement papers had consequently been invalidated.
