With some exceptions, the laws prohibited broadcasters from broadcasting matter for or on behalf of the government or government agencies, and from broadcasting political advertisements ("matter intended or likely to affect voting in the election", or matter explicitly referring to the election) on behalf of themselves or other individuals during an election period. The "free time" would be divided between the parties based on the amount of representation they had in the Parliament, with only five percent available to other groups, who had to apply for an allocation of free time.