Skopje, 3 April 2024 – A panel discussion was held today, dedicated to “Political Advertising and Integrity of Elections,” organized by the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). The purpose of the event was to promote inter-institutional dialogue on the challenges of electoral integrity in relation to political advertising.
At the opening of the event, those present were addressed by AVMU Director Zoran Trajchevski and IFES Country Director Joana Kosma. Taking part in the event were also several stakeholders who discussed the various aspects of media environment during elections.
Representatives of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, the State Audit Office, the State Election Commission and the State Commission for Preventing Corruption discussed the challenges in the legal framework governing paid political advertising, the experiences from previous electoral processes and the factors undermining the transparency of political advertising.
At the panel dedicated to political advertising in the new EU legislative initiatives, representatives of the European media regulatory bodies from Italy and Slovakia shared information on the rules regulating political advertising, contained in the 2022 strengthened code of practice on disinformation and the transparency and targeting of political advertising.