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The BC’s Report on Summarizing TV Channels’ and Radio Stations’ Actions during the Campaign Will Be Presented to the CEC after the Elections, Contrary to the Legislation. The Council’s Explanations

09 July 2021
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În Moldova
The Broadcasting Council (BC) did not send to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) the reports on summarizing the results of monitoring TV channels and radio stations during the election campaign. According to the legislation, it was supposed to be done two days before the elections. The BC representatives specify that the regulatory authority will monitor the content broadcast even on weekends when the election campaign is in full swing, but also mention that the legal standards should be modified. 
 
According to the Regulation on covering the electoral campaign before the early parliamentary elections held on July 11, 2021, by the media of the Republic of Moldova and according to the provisions of the Electoral Code, the Broadcasting Council had to present a summarizing report on monitoring the media service providers to the Central Electoral Commission two days before the elections (on July 9). As in the previous election years, the BC did not send its report to the CEC on time, motivating that it was still busy monitoring the campaign.

Lia Gutu, head of the General Department for Licensing, Authorization, and Monitoring at the BC, has specified for Media Azi that the authority will also monitor the so-called days of silence, i.e. the weekend days, and the report will be filed after the elections. “Due to the fact that the electoral campaign still lasts even today (on July 9 – editor’s note), both electoral debates and the coverage of the candidates in the newscasts will take place on the TV channels. Hence, as always, the BC monitors the days of silence, and the days of silence are monitored 24 out of 24. Therefore, monitoring as such will be completed on Monday for Sunday,” Lia Gutu explains.

“Our monitors will still keep working tomorrow, and for this reason, I do not see how we could send a summarizing report when the campaign goes on, including today,” the official adds. 

According to her, this discrepancy should be eliminated: “Yes, it is a deficiency of law, but we hope it will be amended in the future.”

So far, the BC has only managed to examine the first report on monitoring the media service providers on June 30; as a result, only one TV channel was sanctioned. The second report will be examined next week, but the date has not been set yet, as the BC specialists have specified for Media Azi.