Belarus parliament elections

Belarusian mass media reminded to treat parliamentary candidates equally

MINSK, 28 October (BelTA) – The Information Ministry encourages regional mass media to enable equal conditions for all candidates for parliamentary seats, BelTA learned from Belarusian First Deputy Information Minister Pavel Legky on the sidelines of the forum Elections 2019: Role of Regional Media in Shaping Public Opinion on the Election Campaign in Minsk on 28 October.

The Information Ministry draws attention to the importance of observing the law during an election. “Now is a very important and responsible period. We urge mass media to be as objective and as precise as possible in observing the legislation and, most importantly, to enable equal conditions for all the candidates, who will use the mass media to speak up,” Pavel Legky said.

Regional mass media represent a good platform for getting one important message across to the public: it is important to go and cast votes, important to participate in the political life of the country.

On the whole, regional mass media create a huge amount of Belarusian media content. As they cover local news, they generate absolutely exclusive information, the first deputy information minister noted. Studies say that regional mass media create up to 50% of unique content in the USA and Russia. “This is why we cannot but take into account the role of regional mass media. They are very important and occupy a considerable place in our media space,” Pavel Legky said.

The forum Elections 2019: Role of Regional Media in Shaping Public Opinion on the Election Campaign gathered about 150 reporters of regional mass media in Minsk. The forum was organized by the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus with assistance of the Information Ministry. The organizers put into spotlight journalism during an election campaign: how mass media outlets interact with candidates, political parties, and public associations, legal aspects of covering an election campaign in mass media.

Elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus are scheduled for 17 November. Pre-election campaigning is in progress now.

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