Draft Law on Media Coverage of Elections Postponed for Discussion with Central Electoral Commission

The draft law on the modification and supplementation of the Elections Code no.1381-XIII of 1997 concerning the Regulations on the media coverage of elections and referenda, proposed by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), will not be discussed in the Parliamentary Committee for Mass Media in the near future. Members of Parliament will first discuss the proposals of the Central Election Commission (CEC) on the issue, said the Committee Chairman Chiril Lucinschi for Media Azi.

Chiril Lucinschi said that in principle the modification of the Elections Code is a good idea, which had already been discussed by various entities, including the CEC. He mentioned that the members of the CEC had a different vision and proposal, according to which “the adoption of new regulations should be assigned to the CEC,” but not later than six months prior to elections. The Member of Parliament added that the draft law initiated by the IJC has some provisions that he disagrees with, such as “the obligation to provide free airtime by private broadcasters” during election campaigns. He specified that provision of free airtime is “dangerous”.

On the other hand, Olesea Jumiga, the deputy head of the Legal Department of the CEC, said for Media Azi that the CEC supports at least one provision of the draft law, namely the proposal to adopt permanent regulations on the media coverage of general elections and referenda.

According to the draft law initiated by the IJC, national broadcasters shall provide free airtime during the entire electoral campaign, as follows: independent candidates – 5 minutes on TV and 10 minutes on the radio each; political parties and other social and political organizations not represented in the Parliament – 10 minutes on TV and 20 minutes on the radio each; those represented in the Parliament – 20 minutes on TV and 40 minutes on the radio; etc.

“So far, the agenda [of the Committee] has not provided time for discussing this draft law, as it is to be discussed with the CEC. I certainly believe that this discussion must be organized together with the IJC and that such a variant must be chosen that would allow introducing a clear and transparent rule for all,” added Lucinschi.

Media expert Ion Bunduchi, one of the authors of the draft law, believes that legislation should be improved by the time of the next elections, as elections are an event of major social interest that decides the country’s destiny for the following several years.

“In terms of provision of airtime on radio/TV, for example, the draft law proposes that each competitor be treated according to the principle of equity, and not equality. All competitors would have the right to airtime, but its amount would be different. A competitor with great merit would get more airtime, and a competitor with less merit would get less airtime. It would counteract the previous waste of airtime and, in addition, would contribute to better information of voters,” the expert said.

The new draft law, which has not yet been registered as a legislative initiative, provides for modifying the Elections Code in the part concerning the regulations on the media coverage of elections. Thus, it is proposed to make the regulations, which are traditionally developed by the CEC, a permanent part of the law. Up to this moment, such regulations used to be adopted before every election. The draft law makes the regulations in this field more predictable.

The initiative concerning the modification and supplementation of the Elections Code has been developed by the IJC experts. According to the authors of the draft law, this document will contribute to democratizing the Moldovan legislation according to European and international standards in terms of coverage of electoral processes.