LONDON: Eurovision organizers are floating major rule changes that aim to prevent influence campaigns affecting voting, the BBC reported on Friday.
Voters can vote up to 10 times for their favorite act, according to existing rules. The European Broadcasting Union, in a letter to broadcasters, reportedly proposed moving to an online vote and forcing members of the public to select their top three acts.
This would move voters away from text messages, an existing voting option, and prevent people from being able to vote multiple times for one contestant. Politically motivated voting had become “persistent” and “deeply worrying,” the EBU said.
Rules governing the voting system have faced scrutiny since the Israeli government called on fans to vote multiple times for the country’s contestant last year.
“New Day Will Rise” by Yuval Raphael placed 15th with the contest’s juries yet outperformed all other entries in the public vote, scoring 297 points.
Raphael finished as the overall runner-up in the contest. Several broadcasters questioned how Israel had placed so highly.
Posts by social media accounts belonging to Israeli officials — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — that urged fans to vote for Raphael 20 times were cited as a cause. The EBU this year reduced the maximum number of votes to 10,
But it issued a formal warning to Israeli broadcaster Kan for featuring videos that instructed fans to “vote 10 times for Israel.” The content was not in “the spirit of the competition,” the EBU said in ordering the removal.
“We believe that these changes will ... help dilute the effect of a mobilised block vote, without compromising fairness or trust,” the EBU’s letter said.
“Even without major paid campaigns, and with a voting system that we can vouch for, it has become clear that today’s geopolitical climate is driving votes for certain artists for reasons that have very little to do with their performances.
“This is nothing new in Eurovision’s history — we have seen it happen before — but this time it is persistent, and for many it is deeply worrying.
“Our research points towards two changes: Moving the public vote completely online and requiring people to vote for more than one entry, for example their three favourites.”
The union told the BBC in a statement: “We can confirm that we have begun investigating a move to wholly online audience voting for the Eurovision Song Contest and more details will be announced in the months ahead.”
Meanwhile, Israeli cosmetics firm Moroccan Oil ended its sponsorship of Eurovision after six years.
The haircare brand had supplied professional staff and products to Eurovision contestants. No reason was given for the end of the partnership.
Earlier this week, Eurovision organizers said broadcasters would no longer be eligible to host the event if their state is involved in armed conflict or a sensitive geopolitical situation.
