Kyrgyzstan may ban private TV channels from pre-election campaigning

Pre-election campaigning by private television channels  may be banned in Kyrgyzstan. Such a proposal was discussed in the Central Election Commission.

The proposal came from a member of the CEC Gulnara Dzhurabaeva. She explained her point of view to 24.kg news agency.

«Candidates must necessarily participate in the debates. Access to television as the most effective but costly form shouldn’t be determined by the financial capabilities of candidates and parties. A fair fight presupposes equality of conditions. Therefore, I suggested an equal volume of broadcasting for all candidates. I don’t exclude that in the future there may be a candidate who simply won’t be heard because of the impossibility to get in TV," Gulnara Dzhurabaeva explained.

Elections are not something to make money at.

Gulnara Dzhurabaeva

According to her, voters can’t always figure out what is the agitation and what is the news program, which our citizens most often trust.

«The smaller amount of paid agitation on TV channels should be filled with a large number of public debates on television. Public debate will help to understand the essence of the proposed candidates and make a more informed choice. I understand that commercial TV channels may not like this approach. But the state has no obligation to support commercial TV channels. TV channels have the opportunity to earn money on what they usually earn in the inter-election time. Why am I talking only about TV channels? Because the high cost of their services creates financial barriers for candidates who don’t have such opportunities. And television is still the most effective way to come into the house of a voter," the CEC member said.

She proposed to determine the amount of time and announce a tender to determine the channel which would broadcast the debates.