Moldovan central electoral authority approves regulation on behaviour for audiovisual institutions at new local polls

Chisinau, 4 April /MOLDPRES/ - The members of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), at a today’s meeting, approved a regulation on the coverage of the electoral campaign at the new local polls due in several settlements on 29 May 2022 in mass media institutions of Moldova.    

According to CEC head Angelica Caraman, the draft regulation was approved by the Audiovisual Council, which had several proposals on improving it. Among the proposals, there is an item on the compulsoriness for the providers of media services to inform the Audiovisual Council about the coverage or non-coverage of the electoral campaign. ‘’The announcement on the non-coverage of the electoral campaign for the new elections does not represent an interdiction to cover it on informative purpose at news bulletins. The announcement on non-coverage leads to the ban for broadcasting the electoral spots and programmes of electoral discussions,’’ Caraman said.    

At the same time, the official noted that the medial services providers must present to the Audiovisual Council the editorial policy of covering the electoral campaign. ‘’These policies will be elaborated by the administration of the media services provider and will include data on the way the television or radio will organize the coverage of the electoral campaign. The electoral authority stressed in the regulation that the tariffs for the electoral spots must exceed the tariffs for the commercial spots,’’ the CEC head also said.

The regulation on the coverage of the electoral campaign at the local elections will be published in the Official Journal (Monitorul Oficial).