Election Obligations & Standards Database

Summary

Access to the media should be guaranteed to all political parties and candidates and be fairly distributed.

Obligations

Freedom from Discrimination and Equality Before the Law

Election Parts

Issues

Criteria

Special measures were taken to ensure de facto equality for people with disabilities
Political parties and candidates had access to the public media on a nondiscriminatory basis

Quotes

[States should foster citizen participation in the electoral process by] ensuring freedom of political debate in the media and guaranteeing that electoral campaigns are open and accessible and that they allow genuine debate that is not only of interest to voters but also informative for their choices. This requires, in particular, transparency and pluralism of all media as well as equal access for all candidates and political parties to the public service media, which should be impartial. Any national regulations on election campaigns should strike a fair balance between freedom of expression and ensuring equal opportunities.
SADC Member States shall adhere to the following principles in the conduct of democratic elections: Equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media.
Provide that no legal or administrative obstacle stands in the way of unimpeded access to the media on a non-discriminatory basis for all political groupings and individuals wishing to participate in the electoral process.
The exercise of power and the use of public funds by the state, the granting of customs duty privileges, the arbitrary and discriminatory placement of official advertising and government loans, the concession of radio and television broadcast frequencies, among others, with the intent to put pressure on and punish or reward the opinions they express threaten freedom of expression, and must be explicitly prohibited by law.
We commit our Governments to: d) safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of…expression…as well as access to the media on the part of all stakeholders, during electoral processes.
We, Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the States and Governments of Countries using French as a common language, (…) 4 - Undertake the following commitments: (…) C. For a peaceful political life (...) 18. To ensure effective respect for freedom of the press and guarantee that all political forces have an equitable access to the public and private media, both printed and audiovisual, under regulations consistent with democratic principles.
We, Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the States and Governments of Countries using French as a common language, (…) 4 - Undertake the following commitments: (…) C. For a peaceful political life (...) 18. To ensure effective respect for freedom of the press and guarantee that all political forces have an equitable access to the public and private media, both printed and audiovisual, under regulations consistent with democratic principles.
Individuals or political parties shall have the right to freedom of movement, to campaign and to express political opinions with full access to the media and information within the limits of the laws of the land.
Access of candidates and political parties particularly in respect of public Media, should follow the principle of equality of opportunity.
...the State and its organs should therefore ensure: That parties and candidates are free to communicate their views to the electorate, and that they enjoy equality of access to State and public-service media.
As for the private media, one issue should be singled out here: While it is commonly agreed that parties and candidates should have direct access to state-owned media, there is, for example, some debate whether also private media can be obliged to include political advertisements of all electoral contestants. The Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters emphasises that, in conformity with freedom of expression, legal provision should be made to ensure that there is a minimum access to privately owned audiovisual media with regard to the election campaign and to advertising for all participants in elections.
With these broad principles in mind, the Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize that in pre-election periods…Media inform the public about the political parties, candidates, campaign issues and voting processes; government media are balanced and impartial in election reporting, do not discriminate against any political party or candidate in granting access to air time and ensure that news, interview and information programmes are not biased in favour of, or against any party or candidate.
[G]overnment regulation of the media is of crucial importance to a meaningful election campaign. While larger and better financed parties and candidates may be able to purchase media time or space, an equitable formula should be reached to permit all contestants reasonable access to public print and electronic media.
Equality of opportunity must be guaranteed for parties and candidates alike. This entails a neutral attitude by state authorities, in particular with regard to: ii. coverage by the media, in particular by the publicly owned media.
Arrangements for fair media access by candidates and parties are an important focus of electoral law. This is especially evident where the major information media are government-controlled. Media regulations should provide for safeguards against political censorship, unfair government advantage and unequal access during the campaign period.
In order to secure a diverse and pluralistic political process which is hospitable to candidates and parties from across the political spectrum, States should: (…) (c) Put in place measures to ensure that all political candidates and parties have direct access to State-owned broadcast media services for specific times on an equal basis, which access is determined either on the basis of the previous performance of a given party or candidate or through a ballot process, and that they are treated fairly and equitably by those services.
Media regulations should provide safeguards against political censorship, unfair government advantage and unequal access during the campaign period.
Equality of opportunity must be guaranteed for the supporters and opponents of the proposal being voted on. This entails a neutral attitude by administrative authorities, in particular with regard to: i. the referendum campaign; ii. coverage by the media, in particular by the publicly owned media; iii. public funding of campaign and its actors; iv. billposting and advertising; v. the right to demonstrate on public thoroughfares.
Irrespective of the details of regulation, in quite a substantial number of countries, public and private media were found to have breached the rules on equal access, according to observer reports. Moreover, even a fixed amount of free television and radio airtime for contestants might not be sufficient to address strongly unbalanced campaign coverage in regular news programmes. Therefore, media behaviour should be carefully monitored and, if breaches of the law occur, be adequately sanctioned.
With these broad principles in mind, the Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize that in pre-election periods... (e) Airtime for direct access programmes is granted on a fair and non-discriminatory basis; the time allocated to parties or candidates is sufficient for them to communicate their messages and for the voters to inform themselves about the issues, party positions, qualifications and character of candidates.
It is generally accepted that [the public media] should not be political partisan in their editorial coverage. This was the view set out by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, in his 1999 report, when he spoke of the obligation of the state-owned media to give voice to a variety of opinions and not to be a propaganda organ for one particular political party. Also, they have particular obligations to provide civic education, as well as to provide a platform for the different political parties. This point is fundamental. Use of a public resource for partisan political campaigning carries all the same legal and ethical implications whether the resource is funds, a vehicle, a building, or a radio station. This is why there are so often clear laws or regulations protecting public media against government interference.
Access to the mass media should also be guaranteed to political parties and candidates, and such access should be fairly distributed. Fair media access implies not only allocation of broadcast time or print space to all parties and candidates, but also fairness in the placement of timing of such access (i.e. prime-time versus late-night broadcasts, or front-page versus back-page publication).
As for the pre-election period, the basic idea is that the political parties and candidates should act on a “level playing field”. According to Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, equality of opportunities should be ensured between different parties and candidates, at least as far as possible. It should prompt the state to be impartial towards parties and candidates and to uniformly apply the same law to all. This neutrality requirement applies to the electoral campaign and coverage by the media, especially the state media, as well as to public funding of parties and campaigns where relevant. Furthermore, it is important that political campaigning is conducted in an environment that assures freedom of movement, expression, association, and assembly. These freedoms must be safeguarded to allow political organising and campaigning, and to inform citizens about the parties, candidates and issues. The parties and candidates must have the freedom to convey their programmes and political positions to the voters throughout the country.