TV & VIDEO - Oct. 2, 1989

Spanish opposition parties from conservatives to Communists have joined forces to condemn what they called the Socialist government’s interference in state-run television and urge impartiality before the general elections later this month. The conservative Popular Party (PP), the centrist Social and Democratic Centre (CDS), the Communist-led United Left coalition (IU) and the Catalan nationalist coalition CIU presented their complaints and demands to the independent Electoral Board Friday. They called for supervision by an outside arbitrator of election news coverage on Television Espanola (TVE), which runs the country’s two single nationwide channels, during the period up to the October 29 election. They also demanded that TVE broadcast a pre-election debate between Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez and leaders of all the opposition parties.