The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) has sent a note to the Election Ethics Commission protesting against the way the national broadcaster HTV covered the publication of financial reports of participants in the December 4 parliamentary election stating donations they have received and their campaign costs.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ruling party said that despite a warning from the Election Ethics Commission on November 25, the HTV was continuing its inappropriate, biased coverage of the ongoing election campaign.
The party says that in the central news broadcast on November 28, HTV reporter Tatjana Munizaba made a comment on the financial reports of election participants, saying "Gone is Ivo, gone are donations. That could be the first conclusion after reading the HDZ's financial reports."
The HDZ claims that by making the comment, the reporter maliciously put in the same context the ongoing election campaign and some criminal investigations.
The party also objected to Munizaba saying at the end of her report: "Roughly the same principle was applied to the Koteks company from Osijek, Jedinstvo from Krapina or the Sobol company, whose founder is incumbent Minister (of the Interior) Tomislav Karamarko."
The HDZ said the reporter manipulated the public by failing to say that since 2006 Karamarko had had nothing to do with that company.
The HDZ said that in her report Munizaba did not demonstrate such bias towards any other party.
