Six TV stations fined by the BC for violations in the coverage of the election campaign 

The Broadcasting Council (BC) sanctioned six media service providers with fines of 31,000 MDL total for deviations from the Electoral Code. The BC announces that the violations were found after monitoring the coverage of the election campaign on TV and radio between October 9 and 15, 2023. 

According to the BC, out of the 42 monitored TV and radio stations, five did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Code and the Regulation on the coverage of elections by mass media, according to which the presentation of the results of opinion polls on the political preferences of voters must be accompanied by information about who ordered the poll, who conducted it and, if known, who paid for it; the methodology used and the period in which the poll was conducted; the geography of the poll, the sample size (number of respondents) and the margin of error; the authorization or lack of authorization from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) for the poll. 

Specifically, reports about the results of an opinion poll were found in the newscasts of Moldova 1, ProTV Chisinau, TV8, Radio Chisinau and Radio Moldova. The editorial offices failed to inform about the methodology used to carry out the poll and/or the source of funding, the authorization of the survey by the CEC, the ordering party, the period in which it was carried out. At the same time, ART TV and Pro TV Chisinau did not include the section Elections 2023 into their newscasts, although they contained news about the elections. 

Thus, Moldova 1, TV8, ART TV, Radio Chisinau and Radio Moldova were fined 5,000 MDL each, and ProTV Chisinau, which had two violations, 6,000 MDL.