Presidential election campaign in media begins today

The presidential election campaign in the media is beginning today. Campaigning on TV and radio and in the press is allowed from February 12 to March 12. The media campaign can be conducted on a paid basis. As for the free airtime and free advertisements in the press, the candidates will have this possibility only on weekdays. The amount of airtime that each TV channel is required to provide for the election campaign will be not less than 1 hour every weekday. Therefore, the total amount of free airtime on the federal television channels will reach 20 hours.

Free airtime for the election campaign should be provided during the primetime, when TV channels attract the maximum number of viewers. A least 50 percent of the free airtime on each channel will be allocated for debates, round-table meetings and other collective forms of campaigning.

In accordance with the election law, publication of any opinion poll results and election forecasts in the media and on the Internet will be prohibited from March 9 to March 14.