They really do think we are idiots dont they. Lets see, Number 8 displayed prominently, posters slogan is almost the same and Dinamo said they got offered a promotional opportunity for free! So no it doesnt sound at all like someone was trying to get around the election laws.

..................

Management of For a Good Latvia and Riga “Dinamo” deny election campaigning violation

RIGA, Oct 1 (LETA) - The political alliance “For a Good Latvia” and the hockey club Riga “Dinamo” deny that posters featuring hockey player Sandis Ozolins which appeared across Riga today represent a violation of election campaigning regulations.

A poster appeared at advertising locations across Riga today where “Dinamo” defender Ozolins is pictured holding his number 8 hockey shirt, also the number of For a Good Latvia’s election ticket, along with the words “For Good Hockey” and “For a Good ‘Dinamo’”.

For a Good Latvia press secretary Edgars Vaikulis claimed to LETA that the only connection between the political organization and this advertising was that the hockey club’s board of directors was also represented on the board of For a Good Latvia; however, the latter was not involved in the advertisement in any way.

Vaikulis indicated that many companies support For a Good Latvia. Asked whether this issue did not constitute a violation of regulations on election campaigning, he indicated that this should be a question for the management of “Dinamo”.

Riga “Dinamo” General Director Zigmars Priede told LETA that the club had received an excellent proposal from the company “J.G. Projekti” offering a “unique opportunity” to place “Dinamo” advertisements free of charge at 300 sites around the city.

Priede indicated that Ozolins, who plays as number 8, was chosen as the team’s best defender. “We also have good defenders who play with numbers 2,6,9, and 14, but Ozolins is the best,” said the club’s general director.

As for the words “For a Good…”, which resemble the title of the political alliance, Priede explained that it was also possible to speak of a “united”, “green” or “harmonious” “Dinamo”, but that the words used in the advertising had sounded best.

Several representatives of For a Good Latvia have taken advantage of opportunities to promote the organization at recent Riga “Dinamo” home games, and major shareholders in the club - Council Chairman Guntis Ulmanis, “Itera Latvija” Director Juris Savickis, and “Skonto buve” Chairman Guntis Ravis - are also founding members of For a Good Latvia.

Meanwhile, the Corruption Prevention Bureau (CPB) confirmed that over the course of today and tomorrow, election day, it is prohibited to publicize any pre-election campaign materials by radio, television, in the press, in public places or on the internet, as well as to distribute or place such materials in publicly accessible places in social and municipal institutions or in companies with a state or municipal shareholding of more than 50 percent. The public are asked to inform the police if any of the above violations are noted, or if attempts are made at vote buying.

Likewise, the CPB also call for the public to submit information on any possible infringements linked to covert political advertising during the pre-election period both in Latvia and abroad.

politiska reklama ir kaitiga jusu veselibai

Gosh, such an amazing coincidence. What are the odds, and so close to election day! Wow, must be egg on someone’s face.

Along with other examples one could also ask why a videotape recorded 5 months ago in Latgale has suddenly become “šokējoša video” news less than a day prior to the elections per the magazine “Ir”:

http://www.ir.lv/2010/10/1/murniece-lugusi-dp-izvertet-nirgasanos-par-policistu

Does anyone think that this “Ir” article & video will be among the ‘hidden advertising’ for a political list and/or candidate when that project wraps up on Saturday night as the polls close?

:-|

E.

Try six months, since it happened in March. Personally, I don’t think it’s hidden advertising since the video was posted on youtube on Sept. 28. But it certainly is connected to the election.

On the Dinamo, KNAB found it a violation.

Rīga, 1.okt., LETA. Korupcijas novēršanas un apkarošanas birojs (KNAB), pamatojoties uz no iedzīvotājiem saņemto informāciju, šodien sācis pārbaudi saistībā ar Rīgā vairākos reklāmas stendos izvietotajiem materiāliem ar saukļiem “Par labu hokeju!” un “Par labu Dinamo!”.
KNAB ir veicis sākotnējo reklāmas materiālu izvērtēšanu un, salīdzinot tos ar partiju priekšvēlēšanu aģitācijas materiāliem, secina, ka uz reklāmas stendiem izvietotie reklāmas materiāli satur netiešu aicinājumu balsot par konkrētu partiju un satur netieša veida priekšvēlēšanu aģitācijas pazīmes, aģentūru LETA informēja KNAB preses pārstāve Ieva Karlsberga.
Ņemot vērā iepriekš minēto un to, ka vēlēšanu dienā, kā arī dienu pirms vēlēšanām minēto priekšvēlēšanu aģitācijas materiālu izvietošana publiskās vietās ir aizliegta, KNAB par minēto gadījumu informējis Valsts policiju un Rīgas pašvaldības policiju.

Aleks, I stand corrected, it is six months.  But, since “Ir” picked it up a day prior to the election, then if this isn’t an example of ‘slēptā reklāma’ what is?  (Or does “Ir” not qualify since it’s a weekly magazine and this didn’t appear in print, but ‘only’ electronically on the web?)

What is “hidden ad”? Well, the picture of Sandis Ozolins of the Dinamo Riga with a jersey with a number 8, that is. It appeared overnight, specifically for this day. That is a clear ad for a clear party bloc.

I don’t know why IR decided to publish the news today. Maybe they didn’t know until now. Or whatever. But I’m struggling to decide for which party that video would be used as an ad. Is it for Harmony Centre? Is it for PCTVL? Or is it for Vienotiba who can show a swift reaction to the issues of language? To me, that isn’t clear. Is it to you, Liize?

Aleks, perhaps I’m wrong, but the headline to me seemed to indicate clearly who “Ir” intended to benefit by their specific coverage: “Mūrniece lūdz DP izvērtēt ņirgāšanos par policistu.”

Has this non-news item been picked up by Russian language media?  Is Mūrniece featured, regardless whether as a villain or hero?

No matter what “Ir” may or may not have intended, what bothers me is that the spirit of the law (rather than the letter of it) isn’t understood in LV. “Ir” should not have published this during the 24 hour blackout prior to the election.

20 years ago when I first set foot in LV,  I thought it would take LV 30 years to ‘catch up with the west,’ though at the time I was thinking more of the infrastructure.  Now my hope seems overly optimistic, and I suppose another 10 years needs to be added – hence 20 years from now.  But, I can’t help remembering what Ieva L wrote recently on FB about hopes being dashed 5 years ago about LV already being a civilized nation.  I’ll add to her disappointments and say: wouldn’t it be great if the concept of the ‘spirit of the law’ were more widely understood, maybe especially by the media.

In any case, we’ve a long way to go.

L.

I understand the concern. Yes, the news was picked up by major newspapers, including Telegraf. Granted Murniece is not in the headline, but the police is. The story was also on Baltic News Service. I also saw the following headline in Leta: Mūrniece lūdz DP vērtēt iespējamu ņirgāšanos par ceļu policistu. Maybe it came from the ministry of the interior. I don’t know.