Peculiarities of Media Coverage of Elections
(1) During the electoral period, the programmes and printed materials in some way related to electoral competitors and/or candidates shall be broadcasted/published with due regards for the Regulation on Media Coverage of the Electoral campaign, approved by the Central Electoral Commission within the first 7 days of the electoral period. Media representatives shall enjoy the same rights as the national observers.
(2) Within the first 7 days following the approval of the Regulation on Media Coverage of the Electoral Campaign, each broadcaster shall submits to the Audiovisual Coordinating Council a statement on its editorial policy for the electoral campaign, showing the name of the owner/owners of the entity. The statements shall be posted on the website of the Audiovisual Coordinating Council, which shall exercise ex-officio control over compliance with the aforementioned requirement as per the provisions of the Audiovisual Code of the Republic of Moldova.
(3) During the electoral campaign for parliamentary elections, presidential elections and republican referenda, the national broadcasters shall be required, whereas the local/regional ones shall be entitled to organize public debates. During the electoral campaign for general local elections and local referenda, the local/regional broadcasters shall be required, whereas the national ones shall be entitled to organize electoral debates. The broadcasters shall define the format, length and the frequency of electoral debates, being made known to the electoral bodies and to the candidates at least 3 calendar days before each live broadcast. In planning and organizing debates between electoral competitors, media service providers Will take into account the obligation that all debates have to be conducted and broadcast under live broadcast, only on prime times – between 19:00 and 10:00 on working days and between 17:00 and 22:00 on rest days.
(4) During the electoral campaign for parliamentary elections, presidential elections and republican referenda, the national broadcasters, which list is made public by the Audiovisual Coordinating Council, within the first 3 days of the electoral period, shall provide, free-of-charge, 5 minutes of TV airtime and 10 minutes of radio airtime to the candidates to present their electoral programmes and to inform the voters. The respective airtime is granted apart from the airspace allotted for electoral advertising and debates.
(5) In parliamentary elections, presidential elections and republican referenda, the public broadcasters shall allot 1 minute per day free airtime to candidates to place their electoral advertising. As for the paid electoral advertising, each electoral competitor shall be granted airtime not exceeding 2 minutes per day during the electoral campaign for each broadcast outlet. The terms for buying airtime and the respective fees are made known 3 calendar days before airing electoral advertising. The cost of the airtime granted to electoral competitors shall not exceed the usual cost for commercial advertising. Airtime for paid electoral advertising is granted to all candidates at similar broadcasting hours.
(6) Each candidate is liable for the content of broadcast or published electoral advertising materials. Each electoral advertising material shall include the name of the candidate, the date of its printing, edition and the name of the Printing House. Paid electoral advertising shall be accompanied by the logo “Elections”.
(7) Under the current law, the refusal to broadcast or print electoral advertising, either free-of-charge or against payment, may be challenged in Court.
(8) Electoral advertising via Internet and mobile phone is categorized as electoral advertising in printed Media.
(9) On Election Day, prior to the closure of polling stations, the Media shall not make public the results of voters’ surveys on their electoral choices.
(10) During the electoral period, any opinion polls on voters’ political preferences shall be conducted only if the Central Electoral Commission was notified about this in advance. The results of such polls shall be made public no later than 5 days before the Election Day. On Election Day, prior to the closure of all polling stations, the Media shall not make public materials, including interviews with voters, the number of votes received by candidates during the day, and their chances of winning, including the results of exit polls.
(11) Upon the request of electoral bodies, Media outlets established by public authorities shall publish and the broadcasters shall air, free-of-charge, motivational, civic and electoral education spots; carry out voters’ awareness raising campaigns on voting procedures and other voting features.
(12) Every 2 weeks, the Audiovisual Coordinating Council shall submit monitoring reports to the Central Electoral Commission addressing the electoral campaign coverage by national broadcasters. The monitoring reports shall include information on compliance with the legal requirements of election coverage within all programmes. 2 days prior to elections, the Audiovisual Coordinating Council shall submit a summary report to the Central Electoral Commission.
