Statement of NGOs on the Allocation Time for Free Advertisements on Qualified Election Subjects

Political union of citizens Democratic Movement for United Georgia appealed to the Public Broadcaster and private TV-Companies on September 30, 2013 and requested to recognize their movement as qualified subjects and allocate free time for the advertisements of their presidential candidate Nino Burjanadze. Public Broadcaster replied to their appeal statement with refusal on October 4.

We believe that Public Broadcaster and private TV-Companies shall recognize those presidential candidates to be qualified election subjects, who had gained support of at least 4 percent of interviewed voters, in at least five polls carried out during the election year (in this particular case 2013) or in one poll conducted a month before the Election Day.

In accordance to the Article 51 Paragraph I of the Organic Law of Georgia “Election Code”, “In the course of the pre-election campaign, while broadcasting of social-political programs and elections, a broadcaster shall observe the principle of impartiality and fairness pursuant to the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting, code of conduct of broadcasters and this Law.”

In accordance to the Paragraph III of the same article, “Obligations set forth by the present Law concerning an equal allocation of airtime, creation of equal conditions for participating in the debates and election advertising shall apply only to the qualified election subjects.”

Organic Law on Political Unions sets who are qualified election subjects. Article 30 of the Organic Law states that “Funds from the state budget which are to be directly distributed among political parties, shall go to the political parties, which during the last parliamentary elections overcame the 4% threshold.” Also, according to the Article 51 Paragraph VII of the Election Code, “qualified election subject for presidential elections shall be considered a candidate nominated by political unions, funded from the Georgian state budget, based on the outcome of the last parliamentary or local self-government elections.” Also, Paragraph VIII of the Article 51 states that “A broadcaster is authorized to recognize as a qualified election subject the political party, which according to the public opinion poll, conducted within the whole territory of Georgia in compliance with the terms set forth by this Article, has gained not less than 4 % of votes in not less than 5 public opinion polls held during the election year, or in an opinion poll held no later than a month before the elections. Discriminative use of sociological surveys by the broadcaster is impermissible.” 

Although the law does not oblige the broadcaster to implement the aforementioned requirement and indicates that it is authorized to personally grant the status to the candidate, we believe that in order to hold Presidential Election in fair environment, and if the presidential candidate really gets support of 4% if interviewed people in social polls, the broadcaster shall consider her/him as qualified election subject and apply the requirements of the Article 51 Paragraph III of the Election Code to him/her too; namely to allocate an equal airtime, create equal conditions for participating in the debates and election advertising.  

Human Rights Center

Public Advocacy

Media Institute 

Human Rights Priority