Abstract

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on radio and television broadcasting is elected from among the members of the same Commission by an absolute majority of the members on the third vote. Ever since the majority election system has been in force all the political parties have agreed that it is appropriate for its Chairman to be designated by the minority; it appears incontrovertible that for a certain easily documentable period a regularity is found, to the point of being able to state a rule: 'Without prejudice to the fact that the numerical majority of the votes required by the Regulations elects the Chairman of the Committee, it is up to the political minority to designate the eligible person'. Is this rule legally binding? It seems evident to me that the answer is negative; on 13 November 2008, after months of paralysis over the issue because the majority refused to elect the candidate designated by the minority, the majority elected another exponent of the minority chosen directly by it. The text examines the significance to be attributed to the fact that the minority has deemed such appointment inadmissible and, without contesting its validity on the legal plane, has contested the political legitimacy thereof.