Debates shall be programmed separately for the presidential election and the constitutional referendum, as electoral issues in newscasts and current affairs programs shall be grouped together and labeled as “Electorala 2024”, under a set or election coverage rules for broadcasters approved by the Central Electoral Commission today.

Within 7 days from the start of the electoral period, media organizations intending to cover the October 20 election and referendum will need to submit to the Broadcasting Council a statement detailing their editorial policies. Those not interested in covering the electoral events will also need to submit a formal notification.

Public media service providers shall allot one minute of airtime per day, free of charge, for each electoral event to registered contestants in each generalist newscast, and another minute per day for each electoral event for electoral advertising.

Also, national broadcasters shall allot 5 minutes of airtime for television content and 10 minutes for radio content to electoral contestants for each electoral event to present their manifestos and inform voters.

For paid electoral advertising, each initiative group, electoral competitor and referendum participant shall be allotted no more than 2 minutes per day by a given broadcaster for each electoral event.

Broadcasters that will declare their interest in covering only the presidential election may still mention the referendum in their newscasts and public affairs programs, but only as part of Moldova’s foreign policy, and this subject may not may exceed a third of the total time allocated to the program.

The electoral period for the October 20 presidential election and constitutional referendum begins on August 1 and will last until the day the electoral outcomes are validated.