Skopje, 26 September 2025 – Following the conclusion of a public consultation process, today, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services adopted the Guidelines for Broadcasters for the 2025 Local Elections, with the aim of clarifying the implementation of the provisions of the Electoral Code.
The Guidelines outline the rules concerning the limits on paid political advertising (PPA), the identification of the advertising sponsors, the allocation of airtime in news segments by the Public Broadcasting Service, the free political presentation on the Parliamentary Channel, and the requirement to make election-related content accessible to persons with disabilities.
During the election campaign for the Local Elections, in the first round of voting, broadcasters may air a total of nine minutes and thirty seconds of additional advertising time per clock hour of broadcast programming, exclusively intended for PPA. The Guidelines precisely define the allocation of these minutes among the participants in the electoral process. In the second round of voting, the total airtime for PPA will depend on the PPA time used by the list submitters whose mayoral candidates will continue the election campaign into the second round. The allocation of airtime among the list submitters will remain the same as in the first round of the election campaign.
During the first round of the election campaign for the Local Elections, the Parliamentary Channel will provide a total of three hours daily for free political presentation of the campaigns of political parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as a total of one hour daily for free political presentation of the campaigns of list submitters not represented in the Assembly. In the second round, this airtime will be used for the free presentation of mayoral candidates continuing the campaign.
The Public Broadcasting Service and the national-level television stations that will broadcast paid political advertising must ensure that content related to the election process is accessible to persons with disabilities.
The Guidelines for Broadcasters for the 2025 Local Elections are available on the link.