The three opposition parties asked for the authority to ensure that the public broadcaster fulfilled its mandate by giving similar coverage to all parties. Icasa, however, ruled that because an election date had not yet been set, the broadcast took place outside of an election period, and therefore the matter did not fall within its jurisdiction.
Icasa has reconsidered, however, and now believes that there is a prima facie case for the complaint. The SABC has until Friday to provide an explanation, after which the matter could be referred to a broadcasting monitoring and complaints committee which would then decide on whether or not to hold a formal hearing into the matter.
