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Рy17 December 2018
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The local television and radio stations will encounter difficulties in organizing electoral debates in constituencies, while the public television will have problems with giving free airtime to each electoral contender. This is what the Executive Director of the Electronic Press Association from Moldova (APEL), Ion Bunduchi, drew our attention upon. We also asked him to comment on the provisions of the Concept of How the Mass Media Is to Cover the Election Campaigns, adopted by the Broadcasting Coordination Council on the 6th of December this year.
The Concept says that national broadcasters will have the obligation to organize electoral debates during the parliamentary election campaign in the national constituency, while the local or regional broadcasters will have the right to do so. It also provides for the other way around – that the local and regional broadcasters will have the obligation to organise electoral debates in single-member constituencies, while the national broadcasters will have the right to do so.
This same document provides that public broadcasters will have to give electoral contenders free airtime, fairly and without discrimination, based on principles of transparency and objectivity.
Ion Bunduchi was critical of how the new electoral framework tackled the way in which the mass media is expected to cover elections, and highlighted several issues might have to deal with in the forthcoming campaign. According to the expert, it is unclear how a local radio or TV station in Chisinau will host debates involving the candidates from the 11 single-member constituencies from Chisinau municipality! Or, for instance – how is ‘Gurinel TV’ expected to hold debates?! Not to mention that the public broadcaster is expected to give each electoral contender one minute of free airtime a day! Etc, etc. ‘So, when the articles of the Electoral Code were amended and when the single - member constituencies were outlined, no one bothered to think about possible (or rather impossible) ways of informing the electorate.’ Ion Bunduchi told us.
Note that during the first seven days after the Central Electoral Commission eill have approved the Regulation on the coverage by the mass media of the parliamentary election campaign and of the Republican referendum, each broadcaster will have submit to the Broadcasting Coordination Council a statement on their editorial policy for the election campaign/referendum.
The parliamentary elections will be based on a mixed (a combination of proportional and majoritatian) system in a national constituency and in single-member constituencies.
The Concept says that national broadcasters will have the obligation to organize electoral debates during the parliamentary election campaign in the national constituency, while the local or regional broadcasters will have the right to do so. It also provides for the other way around – that the local and regional broadcasters will have the obligation to organise electoral debates in single-member constituencies, while the national broadcasters will have the right to do so.
This same document provides that public broadcasters will have to give electoral contenders free airtime, fairly and without discrimination, based on principles of transparency and objectivity.
Ion Bunduchi was critical of how the new electoral framework tackled the way in which the mass media is expected to cover elections, and highlighted several issues might have to deal with in the forthcoming campaign. According to the expert, it is unclear how a local radio or TV station in Chisinau will host debates involving the candidates from the 11 single-member constituencies from Chisinau municipality! Or, for instance – how is ‘Gurinel TV’ expected to hold debates?! Not to mention that the public broadcaster is expected to give each electoral contender one minute of free airtime a day! Etc, etc. ‘So, when the articles of the Electoral Code were amended and when the single - member constituencies were outlined, no one bothered to think about possible (or rather impossible) ways of informing the electorate.’ Ion Bunduchi told us.
Note that during the first seven days after the Central Electoral Commission eill have approved the Regulation on the coverage by the mass media of the parliamentary election campaign and of the Republican referendum, each broadcaster will have submit to the Broadcasting Coordination Council a statement on their editorial policy for the election campaign/referendum.
The parliamentary elections will be based on a mixed (a combination of proportional and majoritatian) system in a national constituency and in single-member constituencies.
