Article 57. The Terms for Conducting the
Pre-Election Campaign
1. A candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine may begin the pre-election campaign
the day after he/she is registered by the
Central Election Commission.
2. The pre-election campaign shall end at
24 hrs on the last Friday before the day of
elections.
3. The campaign before the repeat voting shall
start the day after the repeat voting was
called and shall end at 24 hrs on the last
Friday before the day of repeat voting.
4. Campaigning during the election process
beyond the terms established in this article
shall be prohibited.
Article 58. Forms and Means of the Pre-election
Campaign
1. The pre-election campaign may be carried
out in any form and by any means that do not
contradict the Constitution of Ukraine and
the laws of Ukraine.
2. Ukrainian citizens shall have the right
to freely and comprehensively discuss the
election proŽgrams of candidates to the post
of President of Ukraine, the political, professional
and personal merits of the candidates, as
well as to campaign for or against the candidates.
3. Official notices during the election process
(without comments which may be of campaign
naŽture, as well as video - and audio -recordings,
movies and photo illustrations) about the
activities of the candidates to the post of
President of Ukraine while they carry out
their official (duty) authorities, envisaged
by the Constitution of Ukraine or other laws
of Ukraine, shall not be considered part of
the pre-election campaign.
4. The pre-election campaign shall be carried
out at the expense of funds from the State
Budget of Ukraine that are allocated for the
preparation and conduct of the elections,
for purposes specified by this Law, and at
the expense of funds from the campaign funds
of the candidates to the post of President
of Ukraine.
5. The pre-election campaign at the expense
of funds allocated from the State Budget of
Ukraine for the preparation and conduct of
elections shall be carried out in compliance
with the principle of equal conditions providing
the candidates to the post of President of
Ukraine with the same print space in the print
media and air time on radio and TV.
6. Bodies of the state executive power and
bodies of local self-government shall, at
the request of the respective territorial
election commission, provide premises suitable
for conducting public pre-election campaign
events, which shall be organized by the territorial
election commission. In connection with this,
the territorial election commission is obliged
to ensure equal opportunities for all candidates
to the post of President of Ukraine, registered
by the Central Election Commission. The payment
for using the provided premises shall be carried
out according to the procedure established
in part two of article 39 of this Law.
7. A candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine, who is registered by the Central
Election Commission, shall have the right,
on a contractual basis and at the expense
of the campaign fund, to lease buildings and
premises of all forms of ownership for the
purpose of holding meetings, rallies, debates,
discussions and other public pre-election
campaign events.
8. A candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine or his/her proxy shall notify the
respective territorial election commission
about the time and venue for public pre-election
campaign events.
9. In case a building (premises), irrespectively
of the form of ownership, is provided for
a public pre-election campaign event or for
campaigning for one candidate to the post
of President of Ukraine, the owner ( tenant,
user) of the building (premises) shall not
have the right to refuse to provide it to
another candidate to the post of President
of Ukraine under the same conditions. This
demand shall not apply to premises, which
are owned or used on a constant basis by parties
(blocs) - subjects of the election process.
Article 59. Information Posters and Pre-Election
Campaign Materials
1 . The Central Election Commission shall,
at the expense of funds allocated from the
State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation
and conduct of the elections, no later than
the thirty fifth day prior to the day of the
elections , ensure the production of information
posters of the candidates to the post of President
of Ukraine who are registered by the Central
Election Commission in the quantity of five
copies to each polling station. The posters
must contain the pre-election programs of
the candidates to the post of President of
Ukraine submitted by them to the Central Election
Commission in connection with the registration
of candidates, with an inŽdiŽcation of the
name, patronymic and surname, year of birth,
position (occupation), place of work and residence,
and the party affiliation of the candidate
, as well as a photo of the candidate. The
Central Election Commission shall determine
the format, size and layout of the information
posters.
2. The Central Election Commission shall agree
on the text of the information poster with
the candidates to the post of President of
Ukraine or his/her authorized representative.
3. The information posters of the candidates
to the post of President of Ukraine must be
of the same form at, size and layout, which
shall be determined by the Central Election
Commission.
4. The information posters of the candidates
to the post of President of Ukraine in the
quantity of five copies to each polling station
shall , according to the procedure established
by the Central Election Commission , be delivered
to the respective election commissions, the
remaining part - to the candidate or to his/her
authorized representative. The information
posters shall be delivered to the polling
stations no later than thirty days prior to
the day of the elections.
5. A candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine may , at his/her own discretion ,
produce pre-election campaign materials at
the expense and within the limits of the campaign
fund of the candidate. The party that nominated
the candidate (the party that is member of
the bloc that nominated the candidate) may
produce print pre-election campaign materials
of the candidate by using its own property.
The candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine may , in the same manner , produce
his/her pre-election campaign materials. Information
contained in these materials must comply with
the requirements of law.
6. The candidate to the post of the President
of Ukraine and , the party (bloc) that nominated
the candidate must submit one sample of each
print pre-election campaign material, produced
at the expense of the campaign fund and using
their own property , to the Central Election
Commission no later than on the seventh day
from the date of its production.
7. Print pre-election campaign material must
contain information about the institution
that printed the material, or a notice that
the material is printed using the resources
of, respectively, a candidate to the post
of President of Ukraine or a party, as well
as the circulation figures and information
about the persons responsible for their issuance.
8. Bodies of the state executive power and
bodies of self-government shall, no later
than one hundred and twenty days prior to
the day of the elections, provide places and
equip stands and announcement boards in crowded
places for the purpose of posting pre-election
campaign materials.
Article 60. General Procedure for the Use
of Mass Media
1. The pre-election campaign in the mass media
of all forms of ownership shall be conducted
in compliance with the principle of equal
conditions and according to the procedure
envisaged by this Law.
2. The pre-election campaign in the mass media
shall be conducted in the form of public debates,
discussions, "round tables", press-conferences,
interviews, speeches, political advertisements,
TV-portraits, video-movies and other publications
and notices about the candidate to the post
of PreŽsident of Ukraine and the party (bloc)
that nominated the candidate, as well as other
forms which do not contradict the Constitution
of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine.
3. A candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine registered by the Central Election
Commission has the right to use state and
municipal mass media at the expense of funds
allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine
for the preparation and conduct of elections
on conditions envisaged by this Law.
4. The Central Election Commission establishes
the procedure for providing airtime and print
space at the expense and within the limits
of the funds allocated from the State Budget
of UkraiŽne for the preparation and conduct
of elections.
5. The pre-election campaign in mass media
of all forms of ownership at the expense of
funds from the campaign fund of the candidate
to the post of President of Ukraine , shall
be conducted on the conditions of equal payment
per unit of air time and per unit of print
space and shall only be restricted by the
expenditure limits of the campaign fund.
6. The respective mass media shall , no later
than 130 days prior to the day of elections
, estimate the cost of a unit of air time
and a unit of print space in an amount not
exceeding the respective average cost indicator
for the last quarter of the year prior to
the year of the elections of the President
of Ukraine. The Central Election Commission,
together with the National Television and
Broadcasting Council of Ukraine and the State
Committee for Television and Broadcasting
of Ukraine, shall determine the average cost
indicator of a unit of print space and airtime.
The estimations of the cost of a unit of print
space and airtime for pre-election campaign
purposes may not be subject to any changes
during the election process. A mass medium
may not grant discount to a certain candidate
to the post of President of Ukraine or to
the party (bloc) that nominated the candidate.
7. In case mass media publish the results
of a public opinion survey related to the
election of the President of Ukraine, it must
indicate the organization that conducted the
survey, the date the survey was conducted,
the number of people interviewed, the method
by which the information was collected, the
precise formulation of the question, and a
statistic evaluation of the possible error.
8. A mass medium that has provided a candidate
to the post of President of Ukraine with airtime
or print space shall not have the right to
refuse to provide airtime or print space on
the same conditions to another candidate.
This demand does not extend to mass media
that are owned (operated) by parties - subjects
of the election process (by parties that are
members of a bloc - a subject of the election
process).
9. In case repeat voting is called, the Central
Election Commission shall provide air time,
print space and printed materials for the
pre-election campaign at the expense of funds
allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine
for the preparation and conduct of elections
in the sum of fifteen thouŽsand times the
minimum wage to every candidate to the post
of President of Ukraine included in the election
ballot for the repeat voting.
Article 61. The Procedure for using Using
Electronic (Audio-Visual) Mass Media
1. All TV and radio organizations must , no
later than 120 days prior to the day of the
elections, publish in print mass media information
about the estimated cost of one minute (second)
of air time, and forward the estimates to
the Central Election Commission.
2. State and municipal TV and radio organizations
shall , at the expense of funds allocated
from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation
and conduct of elections , provide air time
for the pre-election campaign between 19 and
22 hrs.
3. The broadcasting time (broadcasting schedule)
of TV and radio organizations, which have
a license from the National TV and Radio Broadcasting
Council of Ukraine for the right to use all-national
broadcasting channels, shall be changed (without
changing the volume of broadŽcasting) during
the pre-election campaign period of the elections
of the President of Ukraine in order to provide
regional state TV and radio organizations
with the opportunity to extend their programs
and pre-election broadcasts in the respective
regions.
4. TV and radio organizations shall provide
the candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine registered by the Central Election
Commission general time for his/her pre-election
campaign purŽposes at the expense of funds
allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine
for the preparation and conduct of the elections,
of no less than 30 minutes on an all-national
TV channel and 45 minutes on an all-national
radio channel, as well as 20 minutes on regional
TV channels and 20 miŽnutes on regional radio
channels in each of the regions of Ukraine
(The Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the oblasts,
the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol). This time
shall be provided to the candidate on each
of the aforementioned channels three times
in equal shares of the general time. The Central
Election Commission shall determine the volume
and procedure for using the airtime allocated
at the expense of funds, envisaged by part
nine of article 60 of this Law, ensuring equal
conditions for the candidates.
5. It shall be prohibited 20 minutes before
and after TV and radio broadcasts of a pre-election
campaign-related program of a respective candidate
to the post of President of Ukraine to comŽment
in any form or evaluate the content of pre-election
campaign program or to give any inforŽmaŽtion
on this candidate or party (bloc).
6. The distribution of air time , with an
indication of the pre-election campaign TV
and radio programs, and the specific date
and time they are aired, shall be made by
the respective state and municipal TV and
radio organizations based on the results of
lots drawn by the Central Election Commission,
or, under the decision of the Central Election
Commission, by one of the territorial election
commissions in each of the regions of Ukraine
(the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the oblasts,
the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol) with the
participation of the candidates to the post
of President of Ukraine, their proxies or
authorized representatives of the candidates.
7. The results of drawing lots related to
the provision of air time for pre-election
campaign purposes at the expense of funds
allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine
for the preparation and conduct of elections,
shall be published in the newspapers "Holos
Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Courier"
and in local state or municipal mass media
, respectively , within three days from the
day the Central Election Commission and the
respective territorial election commissions
have approved them.
8. The Central Election Commission and the
respective territorial election commissions
shall provide the payment for broadcast time
according to their approved estimates from
the funds allocated from the State Budget
of Ukraine for the preparation and conduct
of elections, based on respective agreements
that shall be concluded between the Central
Election Commission, the National TV Company
of Ukraine, and National Radio company of
Ukraine, and between the respective territorial
election commissions and the regional state
or municipal TV and radio organizations.
9. Air time at the expense of the funds from
the campaign fund of a candidate to the post
of President of Ukraine shall be provided
on the basis of an agreement that shall be
concluded between the administrator of the
campaign fund of the candidate and a TV and
radio organization of any form of ownership.
Provision of airtime without the conclusion
of such an agreement and without crediting
funds to the account of the TV and radio organization
shall be prohibited.
11. TV and radio organizations of all forms
of ownership are obliged on the written requests
of the Central Election Commission or National
TV and Radio Council of Ukraine to provide
information on the allocation of air time
for pre-election campaign purposes, and are
obliged, if necessary, to provide copies of
the respective agreements, payment documents
and broadcasts recorded on tapes or other
carriers of information.
Article 62. The Procedure and Terms for
Conducting TV Debates
1. Pre-election debates using electronic (audio-visual)
mass media (TV debates) between candidates
to the post of President of Ukraine shall
commence within the terms envisaged by article
57 of this Law for conducting the pre-election
campaign. The TV debates shall be conducted
beŽtween 19 and 22 hrs in live air.
2. No more than two candidates to the post
of the President of Ukraine may simultaneously
participate in one and the same TV debate
during the pre-election campaign. The schedule
of the TV debates shall be made on the basis
of the results of drawing lots, which shall
be conducted by the Central Election Commission
with the participation of the candidates to
the post of the President of Ukraine or their
proxies. The results of the drawing of lots
for the purpose of scheduling TV debates shall
be published in the newspapers "Holos
Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Courier"
within three days after the day these results
were approved by the Central Election Commission
and at the expense of funds from the State
Budget of Ukraine.
3. The amount of TV debates shall be such
as to provide each of the candidates to the
post of President of Ukraine with the possibility
to take part in them not more than once, provided
they express their wish to take part.
4. The duration of the TV debates with the
participation of one group of candidates to
the post of President of Ukraine may not be
less than sixty minutes of uninterrupted broadcast
time.
5. In case a decision to conduct repeat voting
has been adopted, the TV debates between the
candidates to the post of President of Ukraine
included in the ballot for the repeat voting
shall be organized within five days prior
to the day of the repeat voting on live air
on the First National Channel of the National
TV company of Ukraine between 19 and 22 hrs,
with a duration of no less than one-hundred
minutes. Such TV debates must be transmitted
on the first channel of the National Radio
company of Ukraine and may be transmitted
free of charge by other broadcasting channels.
The candidates to the post of President of
Ukraine shall participate in the TV debates
personally. In case one of the candidates
to the post of President of Ukraine refuses
or is unable to participate in the TV debates,
the time allocated for such TV debates shall
be granted to the other candidate to the post
of President of Ukraine for the purpose of
conducting his/her pre-election campaign.
6. The National TV company Company of Ukraine
shall organize the TV debates between the
candidates to the post of President of Ukraine.
Other TV and radio organizations holding a
license to use broadŽcasting channels, irrespective
ly of the form of their ownership, may also
on their initiative organize and conduct TV
debates.
7. The Central Election Commission shall provide
the payment for the air time allocated for
TV debates from the funds from the State Budget
of Ukraine allocated for the preparation and
conduct of elections, based on the respective
agreement that shall be concluded between
the Central Election Commission and the National
TV Company of Ukraine.
8. TV and radio organizations shall be prohibited
from interrupting the transmission of the
TV debates.
Article 63. Procedure for Using Printed
Mass Media
1. A candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine registered by the Central Election
Commission has the right, at the expense of
and within the funds allocated from the State
Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and
conduct of elections, to publish his/her pre-election
program, as submitted upon his/her registration,
of a size that shall not exceed twelve thousand
printing characters, in the newspapers "Holos
Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy Courier"
in a print lay-out that is identical for all
candidates. The Central Election Commission
shall conclude an agreement on the publication
of the mentioned materials with the editorial
offices of the mentioned newspapers.
2. A candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine registered by the Central Election
Commission has the right, at the expense of
and within the funds allocated from the State
Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and
conduct of elections, to publish his/her pre-election
program, as submitted upon his/her registration,
in local state or municipal mass media in
a print lay-out that is identical for all
candidates. The Territorial Election Commission,
mentioned in part six of article 60 of this
Law, shall conclude an agreement on the publication
of the aforementioned materials with the editorial
office of respective mass medium. The Central
Election Commission shall determine the volume
and procedure for using the print space, which
shall be provided at the expense of funds,
envisaged in part nine of article 60 of this
Law, ensuring equal conditions for the candidates
.
3. The priority order for printing pre-election
programs at the expense of funds allocated
from the State Budget of Ukraine for the preparation
and conduct of elections, shall be established
by the Central Election Commission and respective
territorial election commissions by means
of drawing of lots with the participation
of candidates to the post of President of
Ukraine or their proxies.
4. Results of the drawing of lots for the
order of printing pre-election programs of
candidates to the post of President of Ukraine
shall be published respectively in the newspapers
"Holos Ukrainy" and "Uriadovy
Courier", and local state or municipal
printed mass media within three days from
the day the Central Election Commission or
the respective territorial election commission
has approved them.
5. A candidate to the post of President of
Ukraine shall have the right, at the expense
of his/her campaign fund, to publish campaign
materials in printed mass media of all forms
of ownership.
6. Campaign materials, specified in part five
of this article shall be published on the
basis of an agreement that shall be concluded
between the administrator of a running account
of the candidate to the post of President
of Ukraine and the editorial office of the
print mass medium. The publication of these
materials with concluding an agreement and
crediting funds to the account of the editorial
office of the print mass medium shall be prohibited.
7. Editorial offices of printed mass media
of all forms of ownership must, at the written
requests of the Central Election Commission,
provide it with information about the print
space used for placing campaign materials
of the candidates to the post of President
of Ukraine, and if necessary - send it copies
of the respective agreements, payment documents,
as well as the respective publications.
Article 64. Pre-Election Campaign Restrictions
1. The following persons shall be prohibited
from participating in the pre-election campaign:
1) non-citizens of Ukraine;
2) state executive bodies and bodies of local
self-government, their officials and officers;
3) members of election commissions when performing
duties of members of election commissions.
2. Pre-election campaign activities shall
be restricted in military units (formations)
and penitentiary institutions. It is prohibited
for individual candidates to the post of President
of Ukraine or their proxies to visit military
units (formations) and penitentiary institutions.
The respective territorial commission shall
organize meetings with voters for such persons
together with the commanders of the military
units (formations) or penitentiary directors
upon mandatory notification at least three
days prior to the day of the meeting of all
proxies of candidates to the post of President
of Ukraine in the respective territorial election
district.
3. It shall be prohibited to disseminate in
any form materials, which contain calls for
the liquidation of the independence of Ukraine,
the change of the constitutional order by
violent means, the violation of the sovereignty
and territorial indivisibility of the State,
the undermining of its security, the unlawful
seizure of state power, the propaganda of
war and of violence, the incitement of inter-ethnic,
racial, or religious enmity, and the encroachments
on human rights and freedoms and the health
of the population.
4. It shall be prohibited for state and municipal
mass media, their officials and officers,
as well as creative staff, in their materials
and programs, not covered by agreements concluded
according to the requirements of part ten
of article 61 and part six of article 63 of
this Law, to campaign for or against candidates
to the post of President of Ukraine, evaluate
their pre-election programs or give preference
to them in any form during the election process
. The activity of these mass media may be
temporarily suspended, in case they violate
this requirement, by a court decision upon
a submission of the Central Election Commission
or the respective territorial election commission.
5. It shall be prohibited to spread deliberately
false information about a candidate to the
post of President of Ukraine. Mass medium
that published information which the candidate
to the post of President of Ukraine considers
obviously incorrect, must, within three days
after the day such materials have been made
public, but no later than two days prior to
the day of the elections, give the candidate
or party (bloc), about whom incorrect information
was disseminated, upon their request, a possibility
to refute such materials , by giving them
the same air time on TV or radio accordingly,
or by publishing in the print mass medium
material provided by the candidate or party
(bloc) that must be printed in the same font
and be placed under the heading "Refutation"
at the same place in the column and of a volume
not less than the volume of the announcement
being refuted. The refutation must contain
a reference to the respective publication
in the printed mass medium or broadcast on
the TV or Radio and a reference to the facts
being refuted. The refutation must be made
public without amendments, commentaries or
abbreviations , and should be done at the
expense of the respective mass medium.
6. It shall be prohibited to conduct a pre-election
campaign that is accompanied by giving money
to voters or providing them with goods, services,
works, securities, credits, or lotteries on
preferential terms or free of charge . Such
a pre-election campaign or the act of giving
out money or providing services, works, securities,
credits, or lotteries on preferential terms
or free of charge, which are accompanied by
calls or suggestions to vote or not to vote
for a certain candidate or menŽtioning his/her
name, shall be regarded as bribery of voters,
as it is mentioned in clause 1 of part three
of article 56 of this Law.
7. The Central Election Commission shall ensure
that explanations are placed in state mass
media concerning the prohibition on giving
out money or providing goods, services, works,
securities, credits and lotteries free of
charge or on preferential terms. The Central
Election Commission shall approve the text
of the explanation and , twice a week , print
it in the newspapers "HoŽlos Ukrainy"
and "Uriadovy Courier" on the first
page and transmit it by TV and radio broadcasting
organizations starting thirty days prior to
the day of elections.
8. Regional state and municipal TV and radio
organizations shall be obliged not to overlap
with their own transmissions the campaign
programs of the candidates to the post of
President of UkraiŽne transmitted on all-national
broadcast channels at the expense of the funds
allocated from the State Budget of Ukraine
for the preparation and conduct of elections.
9. The central executive body for information
policy, television and radio broadcasting,
together with the state TV and radio organizations
subordinate to it , shall be obliged to develop
a procedure by which the broadcast of the
pre-election program of one candidate on the
First NaŽtioŽnal channel of the National TV
Company of Ukraine should not coincide in
time with the broadcast of such program of
another candidate on the first channel of
the National Radio Company of Ukraine, if
the air time for both programs is allocated
at the expense of funds from of the State
Budget of Ukraine for the preparation and
conduct of elections.
10. It shall be prohibited to include pre-election
campaign materials of candidates to the post
of President of Ukraine or political advertisements
in TV and radio news programs. Political advertisements
must be separated from other materials and
specified as such.
11. It shall be prohibited to interrupt broadcasts
of pre-election programs of candidates to
the post of President of Ukraine or the parties
(blocs) that nominated them with advertisement
for goods, works, services and other announcements.
12. It shall be prohibited to conduct a pre-election
campaign in foreign mass media, which operate
on the territory of Ukraine.
13. Mass media of all form s of ownership
, which operate s on the territory of Ukraine,
shall be prohibited from disseminating information
about the results of public opinion polls
concerning the candidates to the post of President
of Ukraine during the last 15 days prior to
the day of elections or the day of repeat
voting.
14. It shall be prohibited to place printed
pre-election campaign materials, political
advertisements, or announcements about the
progress of the election process on architectural
monuments, as well as in places where they
impede road traffic safety.
15. Candidates to the post of President of
Ukraine, who occupy posts, including multiple
posts at the same time, in state executive
bodies and bodies of local self-government,
in state and municipal enterprises, in institutions,
establishments, organizations, and military
units (formations), shall be prohibited from
involving in the pre-election campaign or
using for any work connected with conducting
the pre-election campaign, their subordinates
(during working hours), office tranŽsport,
communication, equipment, premises, other
objects and resources at their place of work,
and from using office or business gatherings
or meetings of staff for the purpose of campaigning.
16. It shall be prohibited to produce and
distribute printed pre-election campaign materials,
which do not contain information about the
institution that did the printing, their circulation
and information about the persons in charge
of the issue.
17. Active campaigning (publishing campaign
materials in mass media, distributing election
leaflets, posting election posters, and public
calls to vote for or against candidates to
the post of President of Ukraine) and dissemination
of political advertisements shall be prohibited
from the time the pre-election campaign terminates.
Pre-election campaign materials shall be removed
at 24 hrs on the last Friday preceding the
day of elections or the day of repeat voting
by the respective services of local executive
bodies and local self-governmental bodies.
18. It shall be prohibited to make the results
of an exit poll public on the day of elections
during the entire voting process.
19. If a statement or complaint is filed with
the Central Election Commission or the territorial
elecŽtion commission regarding violations
of the requirements of parts three, six, and
ten through eighteen of this Law, the respective
election commission shall immediately forward
this stateŽment or complaint to the relevant
law enforcement bodies for verification and
action according to the laws of Ukraine.
