Baku, Azerbaijan, March 19
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
No authority or candidate has filed a complaint on the media in relation to the April 11 presidential election in Azerbaijan, Nushiravan Maharramli, chairperson of the National Television and Radio Council, said.
He made the remarks at a seminar-conference on the role and functions of the media in presidential elections in Baku March 19.
Maharramli noted that he recently met with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observation mission.
They inquired about how the incumbent president will find a balance between his activities as a head of state and his campaign as a presidential candidate.
“I stated that the balance in this area will be maintained,” the chairperson added.
He said all radio and TV are ready for paid advertising.
However, the balance between pre-election campaign and advertising activity should be ensured, Maharramli noted.
“Sometimes advertising on goods and services on TVs is more expensive than the time allocated for candidates. Hence, TV channels are sometimes not interested in the allocation of paid airtime for candidates. Therefore, I would like TV and radio to have a normal approach to issues of payment for paid airtime by subscribers,” the chairperson added.