Parties Priced Out of Kyrgyz Election Campaign

Kyrgyzstan’s smaller and less prosperous political parties say they are being priced out of the parliamentary election campaign by the sky-high cost of advertising on TV channels, including even the state-run station.



Some channels have raised the price of political adverts from the normal rate of 10 or 20 US dollars to as much as 400 dollars per minute.



Less cash-rich parties say the situation means they will only be able to access the limited number of time slots allotted free of charge on the state channel, National Television and Radio Company, NTRC.



The manager of one private TV company in Bishkek, who did not want to be named, was unrepentant, saying the pre-election period was “the most lucrative time and we should benefit from it”.



However, at least one member of the Central Electoral Commission, CEC, has said the body should study Kyrgyzstan’s anti-monopoly legislation to find out whether it will be possible to set a price ceiling in future. Gulya Ryskulova was speaking on November 15, during a round table on the role of the media in the December 16 election, organised by IWPR and the Institute of Public Policy.



Many TV channels attending the meeting admitted that advertising prices were high, but maintained that market conditions justified them. They warned that if lower advertising prices for political broadcasts were forced on them, the resulting rush by parties to take advantage of them would cut into overall airtime and reduce the space available for normal commercials.



Maxim Kaganer, director of the private Channel 5 TV, said cheaper political advertising would mean advertising breaks in programmes would then increase from about five minutes to 15 minutes, irritating viewers and potentially lowering ratings.



The NTRC is in a different position, since as the state broadcaster, it is required to make a certain amount of airtime available free of charge. The time is allocated to different parties on the basis of a random draw, and the channel then sets aside extra time that they can buy at commercial rates.



Ernis Kiyazov, the company’s acting deputy director-general, insisted that NTRC regularly consulted with the CEC on the service it was offering, and that “we have not received any complaints on price rates”.



Like his colleagues in private television companies, Kiyazov voiced concern about how time was divided between conventional and political advertising, saying that while the NTRC was willing to fulfil the CEC’s instructions about free airtime, it “cannot ignore commercial considerations entirely”.



“We have our own commercial advertising service that signed contracts with various partners long ago, and their rights must not be violated,” he said. “Otherwise, they would have the right to bring legal actions against us.”



Not all political parties dispute - or even dislike - the current pricing arrangement, which naturally benefits the bigger, older and best-funded among them.



Iskhak Masaliev, head of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan, one of the country’s largest parties, said the laws of the market had to be respected. “We have a market economy and I understand the desire of television companies to derive benefit from elections,” he said. “I don’t see anything tragic about this situation.”



He conceded that the high cost of political advertising had created unequal conditions for political parties, especially the newer ones. “But this is the reality that exists in Kyrgyzstan and it is necessary to recognise these market relationships,” he added.



By contrast, Edil Baisalov, deputy chairman of the Social Democratic Party, another large and well-funded party, called for more restrictive criteria, especially for paid adverts on the state channel.



“I don’t understand why our public state channel has increased its prices for political advertising,” he said. “The NTRC lives off taxpayers’ money and must serve their needs for information.”



As for the private channels, Baisalov said, “When they receive a license for broadcasting, they commit themselves to performing a public-service function. Unless all the parties have equal access, we cannot talk about… democratic elections.”



Baisalov insisted that what he called the “commercialisation of elections” was “not only unethical but also against the law”.



With that in mind, the Social Democrats have lodged an appeal with the government’s anti-monopoly committee and the CEC, demanding a statutory ceiling on the price of political PR.



Other parties sympathise with the Social Democrats. Gulnara Iskakova from the opposition Ata-Meken party said the prices were discriminatory both against certain parties and the electorate as a whole.



“The electorate has a constitutional right to information. Predatory prices prevent the development of communication between the electorate and political parties,” she said.



Whether the Social Democrats will get anywhere with their demands is doubtful.



Marat Sakeev of the state anti-monopoly commission said his agency might be able to “influence state monopoly enterprises [like NTRC], but the other channels are private and are free to establish their own tariffs and prices”.



According to Svetlana Moldogazieva, a political scientist, the only hope of change lay in fresh legislation, as the current law on advertising “does not set out standards that would regulate or restrict the pricing policy of private media”.



Legislative changes should come through parliament, but since the assembly has been dissolved pending the election, any urgent measures would have to take the form of orders from the Kyrgyz president or government.



Jypara Abdrahmanova is an IWPR contributor in Bishkek.