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Regulations
on Information Guarantees
in the Election Campaign
(The following is a translation, prepared by the editors,
of the regulations on media and the December 12 elections
approved by the President of the Russian Federation on
October 29, 1993.)
Free democratic elections and the full
realization by citizens of their electoral rights require
that all candidates and electoral blocs have the
opportunity to express freely their points of view
through means of mass media and that the editorial staffs
of instruments of mass information be free from illegal
interference in their activities during the election
campaign. To meet these objectives, the present
Regulations establish the following information
guarantees of election campaign activity:
1. The present Regulations apply
to election campaign activity conducted through the means
of mass information (MMI).
Definitions
2. In these Regulations, it
is understood that:
a. “election campaign
communications” consist of reports and materials
(mass information) which are directed at soliciting the
electorate to vote for or against a particular candidate
or electoral bloc;
b. “types of election
campaign communications” are political
advertisements, speeches, press conferences, interviews,
election debates and round tables;
c. “political
advertisements” are announcements or materials
that solicit or urge citizens to act in a suggested
manner and which are paid for by a candidate, an
electoral bloc or any other person who acts on behalf of
a candidate or a bloc;
d. “speech” is a
personal address by a candidate or representative of an
electoral bloc to the electorate with an explanation of
the candidate or bloc’s election program or platform
and which is not a political advertisement as defined in
these Regulations and which does not take place during a
press conference, interview, election debate or round
table;
e. “press conference”
and “interview” are addresses of candidates,
their official representatives, or the representatives of
electoral blocs to the electorate with an explanation of
their election program or platform, made during meetings
with journalists and which are not considered to be
political advertisements;
f. “election debates”
are addresses of candidates, their official
representatives, or representatives of electoral blocs to
the electorate with an explanation of their election
program or platform, and also regarding election programs
or platforms of other candidates or electoral blocs made
during a public exchange of positions and questions, and
which are not considered to be political
advertisements;
g. “round table”
consists of addresses by candidates, their official
representatives, or representatives of electoral blocs to
the electorate with an explanation of their election
programs or platforms and which are statements made in
the course of answering questions posed by a moderator
(journalist-moderator), television viewers, and radio
listeners, and which are not considered to be political
advertisements;
h. “television and radio
company that transmits over the territory of an electoral
district” is a television or radio company whose
broadcasts are reliably received within the limits of an
electoral district or approximately within its
boundaries;
Free and Purchased Time
3. During the three week
period preceding the election, the candidates and
electoral blocs are entitled to free broadcast time under
the conditions of and within the limitations set forth in
Article 28 of the Regulations on the Election of Deputies
to the State Duma in 1993.
From the moment of the registration of
a candidate or an electoral bloc by the corresponding
election commission, but not during the three week period
prior to the elections, broadcast time may be made
available to the candidate or electoral bloc for
payment.
A candidate or electoral bloc has the
right in accordance with a contract concluded with a
television or radio company to receive pursuant to these
Regulations, for a fee, broadcast time in excess of the
limits established by Article 28 of the Regulations on
the Election of Deputies to the State Duma in 1993.
The amount of the fee for such air
time must be equal in character for all candidates and
electoral blocs.
4. Broadcast time of each type
of election campaign communication must be sold
separately.
5. During the election campaign
every television or radio company is obliged to provide
all candidates and electoral blocs with the opportunity
to obtain for a fee an equal broadcast time of each type
of election campaign communication, but not exceeding the
established norms: 2 minutes per 24-hour period for
political advertisements, but not more than 10 percent of
the total air time received or by the candidate or
electoral bloc for a fee; 70 minutes a week for the
broadcast of speeches, press conferences, and interviews;
350 minutes for the broadcast of election debates and
round tables for the period made available to a candidate
or electoral bloc for the conduct of their election
campaign communications on television and radio.
The broadcast time allocations set
forth in the first paragraph of this section shall not be
included in the time provided to candidates and electoral
blocs free of charge.
6. In establishing the scale of
fees for the broadcast time of speeches, press
conferences, interviews, election debates, and round
tables, a television or radio company may charge no more
than is necessary to cover its own expenses incurred in
providing the broadcast time to the candidates or
electoral blocs for these purposes.
A candidate or electoral bloc has the
right to go to court with a demand to decrease a fee for
broadcast time if it was extremely inflated by a
television or radio company. The burden of proving
that the fee for broadcast time is reasonable falls on
the television or radio company.
7. During newscasts, information
regarding the election campaigning of candidates and
electoral blocs should be presented exclusively in the
beginning of the program as a separate segment. In
newscasts, this information shall not be the subject of
commentary. These segments shall not paid for by
candidates or electoral blocs.
Fees for Distribution
8. During the conduct of the
election campaign, distributors of television and radio
programs, in determining fees for the distribution of
products of MMI which contain any category of election
campaign communications, shall base their charges
exclusively on the recoupment of costs incurred in the
distribution of the election campaign communications.
The distributors of television-radio
programming containing election campaign communications
shall publicly announce (declare) prior to the election
campaign the fee scales for distribution of election
campaign communications.
During the election campaign, the
distributors of television-radio programming containing
election campaign communications shall not raise the
previously announced scale of their fees.
In order to limit monopolistic
activity in the sphere of distribution of election
campaign communications, the Council of Ministers of the
Government of the Russian Federation may establish
maximum levels of payment for the distribution of
television-radio programs containing election campaign
communications for the period of the election campaign.
A candidate, electoral bloc,
television or radio company, or prosecutor shall have the
right to seek redress in a court of law for a decrease of
an unreasonably high fee for the distribution of
television or radio programming containing election
campaign communications. The burden of proof to show the
reasonableness of the fee shall lie with the distributor
of the television or radio programs.
Independent distributors of television
or radio programming containing election campaign
communications shall have the right to receive from the
federal budget compensation equal to the difference
between the customary fee for distribution of MMI
products and the fee charged for television or radio
programming containing election campaign communications.
Decisions concerning the conditions and procedure for the
reimbursements shall be made by the Council of Ministers
of the Government of the Russian Federation. Denial of
reimbursement may be appealed to a court in accordance
with existing laws.
9. A television or radio company
is required to announce periodically to the public the
time, place and topic of upcoming election debates and
round tables from the moment of receipt of this
information up to the beginning of their transmission.
10. Candidates and electoral
blocs shall pay for the broadcast time of election
debates and round tables after announcement of their
time, place and topic.
The conduct of election debates and
round tables shall be paid for from election funds on an
equal basis.
11. Candidates or electoral
blocs which have paid for the broadcast time of election
debates or round tables shall have the right:
a. to organize election debates
or round tables;
b. to establish, together with
other organizers of election debates or round tables,
rules for conducting them;
c. to take part in election
debates or round tables organized by other candidates or
electoral blocs, except for cases when all other
participants of election debates or round tables object.
In these Regulations, the organizers
of election debates or round tables shall be understood
to mean candidates or electoral blocs which have agreed
to the place and topic of election debates or round
tables and have coordinated with the television or radio
company the time of their production and jointly
undertaken other steps necessary for their organization.
Debates and Round Tables
12. Organizers of election
debates and round tables shall be required to announce in
advance the topic or topics of upcoming debates.
13. A participant in an election
debate or round table shall be required:
a. to adhere to a set order of
the conduct of the election debate or round table; and
b. not to use pejorative or
slanderous utterances toward other participants in
election debates or round tables.
14. A moderator
(journalist-moderator) during an election debate or round
table shall have the right to demand from a candidate or
electoral bloc representative a reply to a question posed
by another participant in the election debate or round
table, or by television viewers.
15. A moderator
(journalist-moderator) during an election debate or round
table shall not:
a. fail to follow the procedural
rules of the election debate or round table established
by its organizers;
b. in any way limit the time of
presentation of any candidate or electoral bloc
representative during the election debate or round table,
except when this power is given to the moderator in
accordance with the established procedural rules
governing the election debate or round table, or when it
is required by the conclusion of the time set for its
transmission;
c. demonstrate preference for,
or give assistance to, any of the participants in an
election debate or round table.
Identification and Political Ads
16. Any political
advertisement distributed by a candidate, electoral bloc,
or other person must be:
a. identifiable, i.e., contain
unmistakable identification of the candidate or electoral
bloc in whose interest it is being distributed;
b. provided with a caption,
identifying the candidate, electoral bloc, or other
person liable under the law for violation of the
requirements governing political advertisements.
17. Responsibility for adherence
to the requirements governing political advertisements
shall be placed on the candidate, electoral bloc, or
other person who supplied the advertisement for
distribution.
18. Candidates or electoral bloc
representatives shall apportion the largest part of their
speeches to the coverage of their own election programs
or platforms; criticism of election programs or platforms
of other candidates or electoral blocs must not form the
main content of their speeches.
19. In the event that a
television or radio company intends not to distribute a
speech, press-conference, interview, election debate or
round table in its entirety, candidates or electoral
blocs which took part in it shall have the right to
submit to the television or radio company mutually
agreed-upon recommendations regarding the necessity of
broadcasting separate parts of the speech, election
debate, round table, press conference or interview. The
television or radio company shall follow the
recommendations except:
a. when to do so might result in
a violation of Article 4 of the Law of the Russian
Federation “On Mass Media”;
b. if the total length of the
segments recommended for transmission exceeds the
broadcast time to which a candidate or electoral bloc is
entitled for speeches, press conferences, interviews,
election debates, and round tables.
Ethical Standards
20. During the election
campaign, journalists, in their own programs, as well as
when participating in other television or radio programs
which are distributed by state television-radio
companies, must refrain from supporting one or another of
the candidates, electoral blocs, or election programs or
platforms.
21. During the election
campaign, no state body or organization, public
association, enterprise, or official shall influence or
exert pressure on a journalist with the aim of forcing
him or her to present non-objective, biased coverage of
the activity of candidates or electoral blocs. Violation
of this section shall result in liability in accordance
with Article 58 of the Law of the Russian Federation
“On Mass Media.”
22. During the election
campaign, instruments of mass media shall not show
preference toward one or another of the candidates,
electoral blocs, or election programs or platforms.
If the editors of a printed periodical
publication covered by Section 28(2) of the Regulations
on the Election of Deputies to the State Duma in 1993
make available space in their publication to a candidate
or electoral bloc, they must make space available to
another candidate or electoral bloc under the same
conditions and must do so in the next available issue.
If a television or radio company
covered by Section 28(2) of the Regulations on the
Election of Deputies to the State Duma in 1993 made a
contract with a candidate or electoral bloc to provide,
in accordance with these Regulations, broadcast time for
a fee or in fact did provide broadcast time without
signing a contract, such company shall not deny that
candidate or electoral bloc the right, in accordance with
Section 3(3) of these Regulations, to conclude a contract
for a paid broadcast time allotment based on the same
conditions as used before.
Printed periodical publications
founded by the organs of the representative, executive,
and judicial branches exclusively for publication of
their official reports and materials, and normative and
other acts, shall not provide space in these publications
to candidates or electoral blocs.
The provisions of this Section do not
apply to printed periodical publications founded by
candidates, electoral blocs, or public associations which
are part of these blocs, unless there are other
co-founders.
23. A journalist who is a candidate
for deputy to the State Duma or the Council of
Federation, or an official representative of a candidate,
must suspend his or her journalistic participation in the
preparatory work of television or radio programs.
No journalist who is a candidate for a
deputy to the State Duma or the Council of Federation, is
an official representative of a candidate, is a
participant in the preparation of a political
advertisement or appearance by a candidate or electoral
bloc representative, or who during the electoral campaign
has openly endorsed a candidate or electoral bloc
representative in his or her journalist’s program or
appearance or during an appearance in another television
or radio program of a candidate or electoral bloc, shall
participate in informational programs, pre-election
debates or “round tables” in the capacity of a
moderator.
24. If Sections 20 or 23 of
these Regulations are violated, the journalist, upon
recommendation by the Information Arbitration Tribunal,
may be suspended for the period of the election campaign
from participation in preparation and broadcasting of
television or radio programs that involve issues
connected with the election campaign.
A moderator, who has violated Section
15 of these Regulations, shall not be allowed to
participate in election debates or round tables as a
moderator.
25. Abuse of the right to
conduct election campaigning by means of the distribution
of false reports and materials of an election campaign
character and which offend the honor, dignity and/or
business reputation of candidates, their official
representatives, or electoral blocs, shall result in
liability, by law, for interference on the basis of false
statements with the free exercise by citizens of their
right to elect or be elected and to conduct pre-election
campaigning.
Information Arbitration Tribunal
26. The Information
Arbitration Tribunal (hereafter, the
“Tribunal”) shall be established for the
purpose of resolving the most complex disputes arising
from violations by editors of instruments of mass
information, journalists, moderators, candidates,
electoral blocs, and election commissions of demands of
the legislation governing coverage of the election
campaign by the mass media.
27. The Tribunal shall consist
of 9 members appointed by the President of the Russian
Federation from among experts who are neither members of
any electoral bloc, nor candidates for deputy to the
State Duma or Council of Federation, nor their official
representatives.
During the time of service on the
Tribunal, a member of the Tribunal shall suspend his or
her membership in public associations.
28. The powers of a Tribunal
member shall terminate upon the cessation of the
Tribunal’s term.
The powers of a Tribunal member may be
terminated prior to the end of the Tribunal’s term:
if personally requested by the member; if decided by the
Tribunal in the event of the member’s failure to
follow the requirements of Section 27(2) of these
Regulations; if the member either has not participated in
the work of the Tribunal for a period of 10 days or has
on numerous occasions refused to assume the duties of a
Tribunal member; or upon a decision by the President of
the Russian Federation in the event that the member has
engaged in conduct undermining the Tribunal’s
authority.
29. A member of Tribunal shall have
the right:
a. to participate in the
Tribunal’s activity;
b. to request, in accordance
with Articles 39 and 40 of the Law of the Russian
Federation “On Mass Media,” information from
federal agencies and editorial staffs of MMI which is
needed for the fulfillment of his or her
responsibilities;
c. to demand written
explanations from managers of MMI and journalists
regarding violations of legal requirements governing
election campaign coverage by MMI, or unethical actions
taken toward a candidate or electoral bloc by the editors
of MMI or journalists during the coverage of the election
campaign.
Powers of Tribunal
30. The Tribunal has authority to:
a. provide recommendations to
editorial staffs of MMI, election commissions, candidates
or electoral blocs for improving the practices of
election campaign coverage by MMI and the content of
pre-election campaign communications;
b. evaluate complaints about the
operations of television-radio companies and of
journalists in their election campaign coverage, as well
as about the conduct and practices of anchors of
news programs, pre-election debates, or “round
tables”, and to propose to television-radio
companies sanctions to be applied in accordance with
legislation and the rules of the relevant
television-radio companies against journalists or news
anchors who have violated the demands of legislation and
ethics applicable to election campaign coverage;
c. provide explanations
regarding application of the Regulations on Election of
Deputies to the State Duma and Council of Federation (in
particular, concerning their relationship to the use of
MMI in election campaign communications) and of these
Regulations, as well as of acts of the Central Election
Commission, ministries and agencies promulgated on the
basis of these Regulations;
d. within its competence, either
on its own initiative or upon decision by a court, to
submit expert conclusions to a court on questions arising
in the course of evaluating complaints about the conduct
of election by means of MMI.
31. The Tribunal has authority
to consider cases both upon the petition of interested
persons, or upon its own initiative.
32. The Tribunal shall elect a
Chairman and Secretary of the Tribunal from among its
members.
Internal Operations
33. The Chairman of the Tribunal
shall:
a. supervise preparations for
sessions of the Tribunal;
b. call sessions of the
Tribunal; and
c. preside over Tribunal
sessions.
34. The Secretary of the
Tribunal shall supervise the operations of the Tribunal
secretariat.
35. Apportionment of
responsibilities between members of the Tribunal shall be
determined by mutual consent.
36. Sessions of the Tribunal
(except for the first session and working sessions) shall
be open.
Information regarding the place and
time of open sessions of the Tribunal, as well as its
agenda, shall be furnished to MMI or shall be announced
to the public by any other means but no later than six
hours prior to the commencement of a session.
MMI, whose founders or co-founders are
state bodies, must publish free of charge and in the
established time frame official reports of the Tribunal.
37. A session of the Tribunal
shall be competent if at least two-thirds of its members
are present.
38. Decisions, recommendations
and expert opinions of the Tribunal shall be adopted by
consensus of all Tribunal members present at a session
without a formal vote, unless a formal objection is
raised. A recording of such consensus shall be made in
the protocol of the Tribunal session which shall be
signed by all members present at the session.
Decisions and recommendations of the
Tribunal shall be effective from the moment consensus is
reached, unless the decision or recommendation states
otherwise.
39. The procedures to be
followed by the Tribunal are established in these
Regulations and the Standing Order of the Tribunal. The
Standing Order of the Tribunal shall be determined and
enacted by the Tribunal and shall be published in
accordance with Section 36(3) of these Regulations.
40. For the period of the
election campaign, for the purpose of supervising
adherence to the conduct of election campaigning and
coverage of the campaign in the mass media, councils,
commissions and other bodies (hereafter, “MMI
Councils”) may be created under the auspices of the
Central Electoral Commission or district electoral
commissions.
MMI Councils shall exercise their
authority in regard to editorial staffs of MMI whose
signals or publications are disseminated exclusively
within their respective electoral districts or the
territory corresponding approximately corresponding to
the borders of those districts.
For the purposes of increased
effectiveness of providing informational guarantees of
pre-election campaigning, regional MMI Councils for
several election districts may be created. The decision
to create a regional MMI Council shall be made by the
district electoral commissions. In such cases, MMI
Councils on the district level shall not be created by
the corresponding district electoral commissions.
A regional MMI Council shall exercise
its authority in regard to editorial staffs of MMI whose
signals or publications are distributed exclusively
within the limits of electoral districts whose electoral
commissions have agreed to establish a regional MMI
Council.
41. The Tribunal has the
authority to consider complaints regarding decisions and
recommendations of the MMI Councils created by the
electoral commissions, and also to nullify their
recommendations and decisions.
The Tribunal has the authority to
forward a complaint submitted to it for evaluation to the
appropriate MMI Council.
Approved
by the Decree of the President
of the Russian Federation on
October 29, 1993, No. 1792
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