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Article 68
 

General Rules of the Use of Mass Media

 

1.    Campaigning with the use of all forms of mass media shall be performed in compliance with equal opportunities principle and under the procedure stipulated by this Law.

 

2.    Campaigning in mass media, including political advertising, shall be performed in forms, and in compliance with requirements stipulated by this Article and Articles 66, 69-71 of this law.

 

3.    A party (bloc) — subject of the election process shall have the right to use public and municipal mass media at the expense and within limits of funds of the State Budget of Ukraine allocated for preparation and conduct of the elections, on terms stipulated by this Law.

 

4.    Procedure of granting airtime and printed sections at the expense and within limits of allocations from the State Budget of Ukraine for preparation to and conduct of the elections shall be determined by the Central Election Commission no later than 100 days before Election Day.

 

5.    An election campaign in all forms of ownership of mass media at the expense of the funds of a party (bloc) shall be provided with equal cost for airtime unit or printed section.

 

6.    Cost of a printed section and airtime unit for election campaign at the expense of the funds of a party (bloc) – subject of the election process shall be established by the respective media outlet no later than 130 days before Election Day in the scope not exceeding normal price of commercial ads (advertisement which has a purpose to get a profit) for the first three quarters of the year preceding the year of elections of national deputies. At that, media outlets may calculate cost of a printed section and airtime unit separately for working days and holidays (days off), and for different periods of airtime or different printed sections, taking into account the scope of potential audience.

 

7.    Mass media outlets registered after the 1st of April of the year preceding the year of elections of people's deputies, shall determine cost of a printed section and airtime unit based on information for the whole period of their activities in compliance with procedure prescribed in paragraph 6 of this Article. Prices of such media outlets shall not exceed prices of the Holos Ukrainy (for printed media), the National TV Broadcasting Company and the National Radio Broadcasting Company (for TV and radio organizations), respectively.

 

8.    National mass media shall officially send prices for a printed section and airtime unit, determined in accordance with requirements of paragraph 6 of this Article, to the Central Election Commission no later than 110 days before Election Day, and regional as well as local mass media to district election commissions no later than five days after creation thereof. Prices for a printed section and airtime unit to be used for campaigning shall not be changed within the whole period of campaign. A media outlet may not provide with discounts or set up extra charges for printed sections of airtime for parties (blocs) — subjects of the election process.

 

9.    A mass media outlet, which has provided airtime or printed section to one party (bloc) — subject of the election process, may not refuse another party (bloc) — subject of the election process in granting airtime or printed sections on the same terms and conditions. Mass media outlet may refuse party (bloc) — subject of the election process in granting airtime or printed sections in case if provided materials are contradictory to the paragraph 5 of the Article 71 of this Law.

 

10. Mass media outlets in case of publishing results of survey related to the elections of deputies should indicate organization, which performed survey, time of survey, number of respondents, method of information gathering, precise formulation of a question, statistical assessment of possible error.

 

11. Requirements provided in paragraphs 5 – 9 of this Law, shall not cover mass media, owners (founders) of which are parties — subjects of the election process (parties constituting a bloc — subject of the election process).

 

12. Events of the election campaign may be covered in all media outlets of all forms of ownership as news coverage based on unbiased, objective report of specific information of events, with no comments and assessments.