BCC passes Broadcasters Covering Elections Concept

The Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) has adopted the Concept of mirroring the campaign of the parliamentary elections by Moldovan broadcasters, on Wednesday, Info-Prim Neo reports. The BCC posted the draft concept on its web site, and operated modifications to it. Then the document will be submitted to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). “The innovation in the concept is that it was adopted on the basis of the new Broadcasting Code and of the amendments to the Elections Code regarding media,” said Gheorghe Gorincioi, the BCC's chairman. The concept provides for equal access for all electoral competitors to radio and TV stations. “The basic requirement is balance and equality of chances for all contestants,” said Iurie Ciocan, the CEC's secretary. The public broadcasters are obliged by law to cover the elections, while the private ones have to submit internal regulations in this respect to the BCC and the CEC, in case they decide to mirror the race. They have 5 days do to so after the the CEC's regulation is adopted. The concept does not allow broadcasters to make their own comments about electoral events, but only to report on them. Iurie Ciocan has added the broadcasters which may refuse to air the competitors' ads may be sued. The concept establishes that the payments to be asked by the media for broadcasting ads may not be higher than usual advertising. The competitors will not pay for attending debates. In the 2005 parliamentary poll, 12 TV stations and 8 radio stations refused to get involved, Gheorghe Gorincioi said. The CEC will insert the concept into its regulation on holding the elections to be discussed on February 2, at 14.00 The BCC's public sitting was attended by Iurie Ciocan, CEC secretary proposed by the Communists Party, and by Renata Lapti, the CEC's deputy chairwoman, proposed by the People's Christian-Democratic Party.