NRK’s head of delegation, Mads Tørklep, has called for a thorough overhaul of Eurovision’s voting rules, citing concerns over unfair and potentially manipulated voting during this year’s contest in Basel.
Speaking to the Broadcasting Council this morning, Tørklep emphasized that the current system must be changed to keep the competition transparent and apolitical.
“We have raised our concerns with the EBU and asked for a revision of the rules — and as I understand it, this will now happen,” Tørklep said.
He pointed to examples where individuals cast dozens of votes without watching the show, and noted that current rules allow up to 20 votes per credit card and phone number — a loophole that, according to NRK, makes coordinated mass voting too easy.
“This opens the door for strategic voting and large-scale campaigning. We believe this is unfortunate and undermines the contest’s credibility,” he said.
NRK has asked the EBU for greater transparency by requesting access to voting data, but the request was denied to prevent possible system misuse.
The issue will be discussed by the EBU’s steering group this summer, with all participating countries meeting to consider changes later this year in Croatia.
Source: vg.no