During the 1994 elections, the opposition was allowed to purchase broadcast time only to announce its campaign events. The government barred the UPP from the broadcast media through a strict interpretation of the country s archaic electoral law, which prohibits broadcast of any item for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of any candidate or of any political party. Meanwhile, the ALP launched a concerted political campaign thinly disguised as news about the government. The government, the ruling party, and the Bird family also control four newspapers, including Antigua Today, an expensively produced weekly established in 1993 as an election vehicle for Lester Bird. The opposition counts solely on Outlet, which the government attempts to thwart through intimidation and libel suits, and the Daily Observer, a small but vocal publication.
Freedom of religion is respected.
An industrial court mediates labor disputes, but public sector unions tend to be influenced by the ruling party. Demonstrators are occasionally subject to harassment by the police, who are politically linked to the ruling party.