Ro
En
Рy
Civil society organizations are concerned about the management crisis at the regional public broadcasting company GagauzRadioTelevizionu (GRT).
Ms. Anna Kharlamenko, GRT Manager, requested in writing that the Supervisory Board appoint Ms. Maria Parfyonova as Acting Manager of GagauzRadioTelevizionu, due to Ms. Kharlamenko's request for sick leave.
Since Ms. Parfyonova refused the position, the Company's Supervisory Board appointed Mr. Stepan Piron as GRT's Acting Manager on January 30, 2015. It should be noted that the Supervisory Board appointed Mr. Piron as Manager of the regional public TV broadcaster back on September 29, 2014; however, the appointment was appealed and subsequently canceled in court due to the breach of paragraph 12 of Article 37 of the Law on Gagauzia's Public Television and Radio Broadcaster, which specifies the positions that are incompatible with the position of GRT's Manager and, hence, with the positions of managers of the public TV and radio broadcasters. It should also be noted that the decision of the Supervisory Board of January 30, 2015 was adopted on the similar legal terms as the decision dated September 29, 2014; hence, it can be appealed on the same legitimate grounds.
A matter of particular concern is that the management crisis at the company has occurred on the backdrop of the campaign for the election of Gagauzia's Governor on March 22, 2015.
We believe that it may undermine the capacity of the public broadcaster to cover the election campaign in line with the legal framework set for electing Gagauzia's Governor.
According to Gagauzia's Law on Electing Gagauzia's Governor and the Regulation of the Central Election Commission of Gagauzia on Media Coverage of the Campaign for Electing Gagauzia's Governor and Partial Election for the People's Assembly of Gagauzia on March 22, 2015, GRT is to play an important role in the coverage of the election, as it is expected to perform a number of specific tasks:
1. Cover the campaign for the election of Gagauzia's Governor and partial election for the People's Assembly of Gagauzia.
2. Organize election debates.
3. In response to the written request of the electoral bodies of Gagauzia, distribute free motivational, educational materials (videos) on elections and civic education, as well as campaign to inform voters about the voting process and other peculiarities of voting.
4. Make public the election programs of the candidates, free of charge.
The potentially limited capacity of GRT to fulfill its responsibilities regarding the coverage of the upcoming election campaign due to the current management crisis may result in violation of the constitutional rights of voters and candidates with regard to spreading and receiving information about the electoral process.
We call on the management of GagauzRadioTelevizionu to resolve the crisis and ensure sustainable management of the company throughout the election campaign and during elections.
We would also like to bring to the attention of the company's management that the resolution of the crisis need to comply with the law regulating mass media and to be ensured bearing in mind relevant court rulings.
The statement is supported by:
Piligrim-Demo Youth Center, Gagauzia
Independent Press Association
Center for Independent Journalism
Electronic Press Association APEL
