The sanction is issued for the alleged violation of Article 70 of the Law on Political Parties, which establishes the prohibition of the use of national symbols in the propaganda of proselytism.
The Supreme Electoral Court has ordered the suspension of an advertisement for the New Ideas party, in view of an alleged violation of Article 70 (d) of the Law on Political Parties, which establishes a ban on the use of national symbols in advertising or electoral propaganda.
The TSE also ordered the initiation of an ex officio sanctioning procedure and ordered precautionary measures for the New Ideas party and its representatives.
The spot on which the resolution is issued was posted on Twitter by Mr. Xavier Zablah Bukele, president and legal representative of Nuevas Ideas. It uses the national flag.
“Preliminarily it is mentioned that the content of the mentioned video is intended to influence the intention to obtain electoral support for the New Ideas political party and in it patriotic symbols are used”, says TSE in the order issued on February 2, 2021.
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The electoral institute indicates that, if the suspension of the transmission or broadcasting of the video is not ordered, it could constitute a violation of the “guarantee of free elections and the principle of fair competition”.
He adds that electoral propaganda “by containing an element prohibited by law can have an unjustified impact on fairness in the electoral contest and on the regularity of the process”, for which a process of administrative sanction is initiated ex officio and communicated to the General Prosecutor’s Office, guarantor of legality , to verify and the observance of the precautionary measures ordered by the court.
As part of the measures, Xavier Zablah Bukele is ordered to remove the spot from his Twitter account, as well as the New Ideas party to refrain from using national symbols in its election propaganda and to suspend transmission on any television channel, cable signal or medium. digital that guides him.
The TSE also requests a detailed report from the Presidency of the Republic on the production of the site, employment and transmission period, among others. It also orders the media to send a report within the same period of time on the proper observance of this resolution.
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