The Serbian List (SL) announced that the Independent Media Commission (IMC) in Prishtina has prohibited the broadcast of its pre-election campaign spot ahead of the local elections on October 12. The party claims that media outlets airing the spot face fines or license revocation.
According to Igor Simić, a member of the Serbian List presidency, the IMC sent an official notice to media outlets warning that the spot’s content could lead to the suspension of broadcasting licenses.
“The use of phrases such as ‘how to endure terror and restore freedom’ in the political spot is considered contrary to the Constitutional order of Kosovo,” Simić read from the notice.
The IMC has the legal authority to ban campaign content if it breaches the rules foreseen for election campaigns, and it deemed the wording and message of this spot as derogatory and inappropriate for public broadcasting. The Commission immediately prohibited the broadcast of the video, stating that such material could result in media outlets losing their licenses.
Simić criticized the IMC for interfering directly in the political campaign, which he says violates its own laws. He described the move as pressure against the Serbian List aimed at discouraging the party from winning in the elections and reclaiming municipalities in the northern Kosovo municipalities for the Serbian community.
