President Viktor Yushchenko has signed amendments to a number of laws relating to the work of the mass media during the election campaign, which were adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on Nov. 17. The document introduces amendments to the Code of Administrative Judicial Procedures and to laws on television and radio broadcasts, advertising, and the election of Ukrainian parliamentarians. According to these amendments, pre-election canvassing means any activities aimed at convincing voters to cast their ballots for or against certain subjects of the electoral process. Political advertising means a form of canvassing financed by party and bloc campaign funds, with the aid of advertising methods designed to convince voters to vote for or against a certain subject of the electoral process.
Under the law, coverage of the electoral process in the mass media of all forms of ownership, in the form of interviews, discussions, debates, information announcements, and news and current events programs, must be conducted according to the principles of objectivity, absence of bias, and balance.
