The Portuguese Media Regulatory Authority (ERC) today recommended extending the agreement among television operators to conduct the presidential debates, following a complaint lodged by Medialivre, owner of Correio da Manhã.
“The debates will proceed as scheduled on the three generalist channels starting Monday,” stated Bernardo Ferrão to Lusa.
“Moreover, the ERC’s resolution does not impede them,” he concluded.
The ERC Regulation Council’s decision comes just days before the presidential debates begin and follows “the review of the complaint filed by Medialivre, S.A., owner of the CMTV and News Now program services, against RTP, SIC, and TVI.”
In the complaint, “Medialivre argued that, in the agreement between RTP, SIC, and TVI for organizing a series of debates among presidential candidates, there is a violation of the duties of pluralism, the right to information, and equal treatment among operators. They contend that this agreement would effectively exclude access of their program services to a politically significant and election-relevant national event,” the ERC noted.
After examining the case, “and considering the specificities of presidential elections, the Regulation Council deemed that the joint organization of electoral debates can be a valid solution to ensure pluralism and informative diversity during the electoral period.”
However, “it highlighted that such coordination should be guided by a logic of complementarity and expansion of the media space, and it is desirable to include relevant operators in the television ecosystem willing to participate in organizing the debates,” added the ERC in their statement.
Thus, “the ERC recommends, consequently, to RTP, SIC, and TVI operators that the debate organization model for the 2026 presidential elections includes coordination with other relevant operators who wish to expand the informational space regarding electoral debates, especially the complainant, aiming to pursue pluralism, diversity, and the citizens’ right to information during the electoral period.”
