Home > 2.5 Election campaign > RUSSIAN FEDERATION - Federal Law on Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum
 
 
 
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Article 51
 

1. Free air time, as well as paid air time – in the case stipulated in section 11 of article 50 of this Federal Law – on the channels of state and municipal TV and radio broadcasting organizations shall be provided respectively to registered candidates, electoral associations registering lists of candidates, on equal terms and conditions (the amount of the provided air time, the time of airing, and other conditions). Free air time on the channels of state and municipal TV and radio broadcasting organizations shall be provided on equal terms and conditions after the official publication of the decision to call a referendum only to the referendum initiative group and other group of referendum participants that shall be formed by the leading bodies of public associations (their structural subdivisions) referred to in Section 2 of Article 42 of this Federal Law, provided that the lists of candidates nominated by them were included in the distribution of deputy seats in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and/or, in accordance with the level of the referendum, in the legislative (representative) body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation, representative body of municipality, or provided that the candidates in federal lists nominated by them were allocated deputy mandates as per the Article 821 of the Federal Law on Elections of Deputies to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and/or, respectively to the level of the referendum, the lists of candidates nominated by them were allocated deputy mandates as per the law of the Russian Federation subject as provided for by Section 17 of Article 35 of this Federal Law.


(in the version of Federal Laws of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ, of May 12, 2009, # 94-FZ, of July 19, 2009, # 203- FZ, of April 22, 2010, # 63-FZ)


2. National and regional state TV and radio broadcasting organizations shall be obliged to provide free air time as per Section 1 of this Article, to registered candidates, electoral associations, for election campaigning at elections of federal bodies of state power, and to the initiative group for holding a referendum of the Russian Federation and other groups of referendum participants referred to in Section 1 of this Article for campaigning on the questions of the referendum of the Russian Federation. Regional state TV and radio broadcasting organizations shall be obliged to provide free air time as per Section 1 of this Article to registered candidates, electoral associations, for election campaigning at elections of bodies of state power of subjects of the Russian Federation, and to the initiative group for holding a referendum of the subject of the Russian Federation and other referendum participant groups referred to in Section 1 of this Article for campaigning on the questions of the referendum of the subject of the Russian Federation. Municipal TV and radio broadcasting organizations shall be obliged to provide free air time as per Section 1 of this Article to registered candidates, electoral associations, for election campaigning at elections of bodies of local self-government, and to the initiative group for holding a local referendum and other referendum participant groups referred to in Section 1 of this article for campaigning on the questions of the local referendum. Free air time so provided must be provided in prime time when the television and radio audiences are the biggest, as determined by the relevant TV and radio broadcasting organization.


(Section 2 in the version of Federal Law of July 19, 2009, # 203-FZ)


3. The total amount of free air time as per Section 1 of this Article to be provided for election campaigning, referendum campaigning by each national state TV and radio broadcasting organization on each of its channels shall be not less than 60 minutes on working days. The total amount of free air time as per Section 1 of this Article to be provided for election campaigning, referendum campaigning by each regional state TV and radio broadcasting organization on each of its channels shall be not less than 30 minutes on working days and, if the total broadcasting time of a TV and radio broadcasting organization is less than two hours a day, not less than one-fourth of the total broadcasting time. The amount of air time provided by regional state or municipal TV and radio broadcasting organizations for electoral campaigning for additional or repeat elections of deputy (deputies) of the legislative (representative) body of state power of a Russian Federation subject, a representative body of municipality for single-mandate/multi-mandate election district shall be determined by the law of the Russian Federation subject. If, as a result of providing free air time as per Section 1 of this Article, each registered candidate, each electoral association nominating a registered list of candidates, each referendum initiative group or each other group of referendum participants referred to in Section 1 of this article gets more than 60 minutes of free air time, the aggregate amount of free air time that each of the TV and radio broadcasting organizations provides for campaigning shall be reduced to total 60 minutes multiplied, respectively, by the number of registered candidates, electoral associations, nominating registered lists of candidates, by the number of groups that have been granted the right to campaign on the referendum questions.


(Section 3 in the version of Federal Law of July 19, 2009, # 203-FZ)


4. No less than a half of the total amount of free air time as per Section 1 of this Article shall be provided to registered candidates, electoral associations, for joint debates, "roundtables" and other joint campaigning events. This rule shall not apply if each candidate registered for single-mandate/multi-mandate electoral district receives less than five minutes of the total amount of free air time as per Section 1 of this Article. The law may stipulate that the registered candidates (including those on the lists of candidates) may participate in joint campaigning events only in person. At a referendum, not less than a half of the total amount of free air time shall be provided to the referendum initiative group, other referendum participant groups (subject to the provisions of Section 1 of this article) for joint debates, "roundtables" and such other joint campaigning events.


(in the version of Federal Laws of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ, of July 19, 2009, # 203-FZ)


5. A candidate, an electoral association, a referendum initiative group may refuse to participate in a joint campaigning. In this case, the air time allocated for this joint campaigning event shall not be reduced, including in the case where only one participant is able to participate in this campaigning event, save as in cases provided for by the law. Refusal by a registered candidate, an electoral association, referendum initiative group to participate in a joint campaigning event shall not increase the amount of free air as per Section 1 of this Article time to which they are entitled, save as in cases provided for by the law.


(in the version of Federal Laws of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ, of July 19, 2009, # 203-FZ)


51. The remaining part of the total amount of air time (if any) as per Section 1 of this Article shall be provided by state and municipal TV and radio broadcasting associations to registered candidates, electoral associations, referendum initiative groups or other referendum participant groups as indicated in section 1 of this Article for placement of campaign materials.


(Section 51 introduced by Federal Laws of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ, of July 19, 2009, # 203-FZ)


6. State and municipal TV and radio broadcasting organizations shall reserve air time to be acquired on a paid basis for election campaigning, referendum campaigning. The rates and the terms of payment shall be the same for all registered candidates, electoral associations nominating registered lists of candidates, the referendum initiative group and other groups of referendum participants. The total amount of air time to be reserved shall be equal to the established total amount of free air time as per Section 1 of this Article or exceed it but no more than by a factor of two. A registered candidate, the said electoral association, the referendum initiative group, other groups of referendum participants shall be entitled, for a charge, to a part of the total amount of reserved air time, calculated by dividing such total amount by the total number of registered candidates, the said electoral associations, the number of groups entitled to conduct referendum campaigning, respectively.


(in the version of Federal Laws of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ, of July 19, 2009, # 203-FZ)


7. The provision of extra free and paid air time on equal conditions to electoral associations that nominated registered candidates may be stipulated by law.


(in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ)


8. Non-state TV and radio broadcasting organizations that have satisfied the provisions of Section 6 of Article 50 of this Federal Law, shall provide air time to registered candidates, electoral associations that nominated registered lists of candidates, to the referendum initiative group, and other referendum participant groups on equal conditions


(in particular, in terms of the time of airing).


(in the version of Federal Law of July 21, 2005, # 93-FZ)


9. Transmission of propaganda materials on the channels of TV and radio broadcasting organizations shall not be interrupted by transmission of other TV and radio programs, other propaganda materials.


10. Any other terms and conditions of election campaigning, referendum campaigning on television and radio shall be regulated by law.