Home > 1.3.1.1.2 Accessibility to the media by participants in the election > Report on Electoral Law and Electoral Administration in Europe
 
 
 
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Paragraph 170
 

If paid campaign advertising is allowed in public and/or private media, access to it must be guaranteed on an equal basis to all electoral contestants by offering consistent and equivalent rates, and it should be clearly labelled, which is not always the case (e.g. Bulgaria, Ukraine). In Ukraine, for instance, it is not uncommon that media outlets publish political content in exchange for payment during election periods. Hidden political advertisements, being indistinguishable from editorial coverage, however, should be prohibited and prevented. Moreover, with respect for freedom of expression, limits to the quantity of paid airtime or, in the case of print media, of paid pages may be permitted to avoid political advertising being extensively used by parties and candidates with large amounts of resources.