DUSHANBE, February 16, 2015, Asia-Plus – Representatives of foreign media outlets arriving in Tajikistan to cover the 2015 parliamentary election should accredited to the Foreign Ministry of Tajikistan no later than February 23, 2015, Abdumannon Dodozoda, the head of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER)’s office, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Under the instruction on participation of mass media in coverage of parliamentary elections in Tajikistan, representatives of domestic and foreign media shall respect and observe the Constitution of Tajikistan and the country’s election legislation.
Dissemination of information containing state secret or other secrets protected by law and false information discrediting the honor and dignity of a candidate for parliament and local councils is prohibited.
Under this instruction, media representatives should not interfere in the activity of the electoral commissions.
A media representative presents identification document and document on media representation s/he works for, at the request of members of the electoral commission.
Media representatives have the right to: attend the meetings of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Republic of Tajikistan, District and Precinct Election Commissions ensuring publicity and openness of their activity; to establish contacts with political parties, candidates for the parliament and their proxies; to attend public campaigning events and cover them in the mass media; be present at voting, vote counting, establishment of voting returns and election results; freely visit all election precincts and polling stations, including on voting day; acquaint themselves with the results of adjudication of complaints (applications) and grievances relating to violation of election laws; inform members of election commissions on their observations, without interfering in their work; freely express their opinion about the preparation and conduct of election after the end of voting; present to the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Republic of Tajikistan their conclusions on the process of the elections.
Mass media representatives do not have the right to: be in the voting booth while a voter is making marks on the ballot papers; influence voters and/or distribute any propaganda materials or publications on election day; claim about the superiority of political parties, candidates for the parliament and local councils during the voting process; ask voters whom they would vote for; issue ballot papers to voters; sign at the request of the voter when receiving the ballot; take any action that interferes with secret ballot; participate directly in the counting of ballots carried out by members of the election commission; take any action impeding the activity of the election commission; participate in relevant election commission decision making process.
