The six male candidates and two female candidates for President appeared as protagonists of electoral articles in different proportions. Independent candidate Igor Dodon, who is supported by the PSRM, was the protagonists of most of the news articles broadcast by 12 monitored portals, while the PUN’s candidate Octavian Țîcu was the protagonist of the lowest number of articles, which was almost five times lower than in the case of Igor Dodon. The frequency of articles, their volume and analysis of the context of presenting different candidates confirms the bias of some of the portals whose editorial policy is aimed not at informing objectively the public about the elections and candidates, but at promoting some of these and at discrediting others, says the fourth report on the monitoring of the media during the electoral period and the campaign prior to the presidential elections that was produced by the Association of Independent Press (API) within the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections.
In a news conference at IPN, API executive director Petru Macovei said that in the articles of the 12 portals monitored during October 18-24, Igor Dodon was most often quoted as a source, while the PLDM’s candidate Tudor Deliu was most seldom quoted. The published articles continued to be considerably disproportionate from the viewpoint of gender, in favor of men. The portals Newmaker.md and Realitatea.md ensured the ratio of gender sources the best – one quoted female source to four quoted male sources. The given ratio on Actualitati.md was the worst one – 19:1 in favor of men.
Actualitati.md, Aif.md and Kp.md had a similar editorial behavior, with pronounced elements of bias, favoring or promoting Igor Dodon in an evident way. The PAS’s candidate Maia Sandu continued to be disfavored by the three portals, but less aggressively than in the previous periods.
Noi.md, Sputnik.md and Vedomosti.md continued to favor Igor Dodon by the tone and number of appearances in a positive context. Maia Sandu and the PPPN’s candidate Renato Usatyi appeared most often in disadvantageous contexts.
Gagauzinfo.md continued to pay insignificant attention to the electoral campaign, while its news items referred to the electoral process in general and to the political sphere. Unimedia.info covered the electoral process and the activities of candidates, presenting most often Igor Dodon and the PPPDA’s candidate Andrei Năstase and also the Shor Party’s candidate Violeta Ivanov in a positive light.
Agora.md and Newsmaker.md had a relatively balanced editorial policy, being primarily unbiased and presenting the candidates mainly neutrally and also in a positive or a negative light, but without having a clear tendency to favor or disfavor. Newsmaker.md had the most balanced editorial behavior in the period.
Realitatea.md presented all the candidates neutrally, positively or negatively. Igor Dodon was most often presented in an unfavorable light. In the articles published by Timpul.md, Igor Dodon appeared most often in a context that didn’t favor him.
Secretary of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections Elena Prohnitski said the monitoring exercise conducted by the API forms part of a broader effort by the Coalition to observe the presidential elections of this year. Starting with 2005, the member organizations of the Coalition have continuously monitored the electoral processes, reacting to all the irregularities that lead to the violation of the political rights and freedoms of the citizens and of the electoral standards.
