BBC Worldwide Monitoring Source: Noyan Tapan, Yerevan, 06 May 99
Text of report by Armenian news agency Noyan Tapan Yerevan,
5th May: In accordance with the decision of the Central Electoral Commission [CEC] "On the rules of election propaganda", during their election campaigns parties and blocs have the right to use no more than 60 minutes of airtime on state television free of charge, and not more than 120 minutes of paid time. During television party political broadcasts the time on air of the given party should be indicated in the top lefthand corner of the television screen, and the next broadcast will be counted from where the previous one left off. But the latter demand is not being carried out. The CEC told a Noyan Tapan correspondent that the commission had recorded this violation and asked the leadership of Armenian National Television for an explanation. The latter told the CEC that due to a lack of technical equipment Armenian National Television is not able to display on screen the time used. But the television channel is keeping a tally, and every five days the television leadership presents an official account about the time used by every party or electoral bloc.