The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) announced on Tuesday that it issued 153 decisions admitting complaints regarding the electoral campaign online and 201 decisions rejecting them between April 13 and April 20.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, the decisions of admission have been taken against:

* 376 political advertising materials with illegal content, posted on accounts whose authenticity cannot be verified, as the accounts were not assumed by individuals or legal entities;

* 141 political advertising materials with illegal content posted by political actors – political parties or persons holding elective or other public offices – either for failure to comply with the legal provisions regulating the labeling of political advertising materials, or for other violations of the electoral campaign legislation;

* 17 political advertising materials with illegal content posted by individuals who do not hold elective or other public offices, but who are political actors, with the potential to influence the electorate, either for failure to comply with the legal provisions regulating the labeling of political advertising materials, or for other violations of the electoral campaign legislation.

A total of 19 decisions – 3% of the total number – adopted by BEC since the start of the electoral campaign on April 4, either to admit the complaints or to reject them, have been challenged in court by the interested individuals or legal entities, 16 decisions have been upheld so far, while in three other cases the disputes are still being settled.

„We would like to point out that, in exercising its powers to issue orders to remove illegal political advertising material from very large online platforms, BEC only acts on the complaint of interested persons, and does not have the power to take action ex officio. Moreover, BEC reiterates that both the communications that fall within the limits of journalistic activity of informing the public and the public opinions expressed in a personal name, online, by individuals who are not political actors do not constitute political advertising materials and that, in any case, it has not ordered the removal of such communications or opinions from the very large online platforms,” reads the press release signed by the BEC president, Judge Cristinel Grosu.

AGERPRES