Home > 2.6 Campaign finance > UKRAINE - Opinion on the Law on National Referendum
 
 
 
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II. Comments on the test of the law


C. Some specific comments on the concrete articles on the new law on referendum.


6. Referendum campaign.


b) Referendum campaign and mass media.


At the same time, private-owned media may have their own positions, and therefore may favour their own opinions and give them wider and better coverage, thus being absolutely partial. It is not only constitutionally arguable, but also politically and socially unrealistic, to require all media, independently of their ideological bias, to treat “equally and impartially” to the parties to the process of referendum, and give “objective and balanced coverage of the positions for and against the referendum question[1]: the balanced coverage of positions should be guaranteed as a result of the concurrence of many different media, and not as a requirement of any of them.


[1]See Code of Good practice on referendums I.3.1.