BCC penalized two TV channels unfairly, media NGOs

The media nongovernmental organizations expressed their disagreement with the September 15 decision of the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC), whereby the TV channels Moldova 1 and Publika TV were penalized for broadcasting citizen education adverts on the day of the constitutional referendum, Info-Prim Neo reports. Warnings were issued to the two TV channels after the Communists Party and the Social Democratic Party submitted challenges to the BCC, claiming that those adverts violated the rights of the parties that urged boycotting the plebiscite during the referendum campaign. “Wr consider the BCC's decision is a challenge to democracy and the democratic values – the freedom of expression, the right to inform, the right to receive information, the right to vote. This decision is a dangerous precedent for the freedom of the media and its role in the election campaigns,” the media NGOs say in a statement. According to the Broadcasting Coordination Council, the citizen education adverts broadcast by Moldova 1 and Publika TV encouraged participation in the plebiscite and constituted electoral propaganda on the day of the referendum. The media NGOs stress that the electoral propaganda is aimed at persuading the people to vote for a particular election contender and the adverts aired by the two TV channels pursued namely this goal. The signatories say this decision makes the voters confused about their electoral rights and the rights and obligations of the political parties in election campaigns. They make reference to the position of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, which described as illegal the central electoral authority's decision to allow the political organizations to encourage non-participation in elections. “We demand that the BCC annuls its September 15 decision to penalize Moldova 1 and Publika TV,” says the statement that was signed by the Independent Journalism Center, the Independent Press Association, “Acces-info” Center, the Investigative Journalism Center, and the Electronic Press Association.