The rule sits not in Law No. 6112 but in Article 80 of Law No. 298 on Basic Provisions on Elections and Voter Registers. The article is headed “Broadcasting ban” and creates three time bands.
The text
Article 80: “Until 18:00 on polling day it is prohibited for radios and all kinds of broadcasting organs to make news, forecasts or comment relating to the election and the election results.
Between 18:00 and 21:00, only news and communiqués issued by the Supreme Election Council in connection with the election may be broadcast on radios.
After 21:00 all broadcasting is free.”
The three bands
| Time band | What may be done | What may not |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 – 18:00 | Broadcasting unrelated to the election | News, forecasts and comment relating to the election and the results |
| 18:00 – 21:00 | On radios, news and communiqués issued by the Supreme Election Council | Any other election-related broadcasting |
| 21:00 – | All broadcasting is free | — |
Scope: “all kinds of broadcasting organs”
Because the article dates from 1961 it speaks of “radios and all kinds of broadcasting organs”. That broad wording is understood to cover television, the print press and broadcasting over the internet. In practice the Supreme Election Council issues decisions on the scope of the ban for each election, and those decisions are binding.
Supreme Election Council decisions govern
Under Article 30/1 of Law No. 6112 “the procedures and principles concerning broadcasts made during election periods in connection with elections shall be regulated by the Supreme Election Council”, and under Article 30/2 RTUK monitors, supervises and evaluates those broadcasts in line with the Council’s decisions.
The practical consequence is that the Council’s decision for each election must be checked. The hours of the ban are in the statute, but the detail of application, the scope and any exceptions are set by decision. Polling hours themselves can vary between elections and between provinces, so how the hours in Article 80 translate for a given election should be read from the decision.
The campaign ban is a different period
The polling day broadcasting ban and the end of the campaigning period are different things. Under the second paragraph of Article 55/A of Law No. 298 political parties and candidates may take part in open debates, interviews and panels on radio and television from the commencement of the elections until twenty-four hours before polling day.
| Activity | Timing | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Programme participation and live coverage of meetings | Until 24 hours before polling day | Law No. 298, Art. 55/A(2) |
| Political advertising | Until the hour at which broadcasting bans begin | Law No. 6112, Art. 31/1 |
| News, forecasts and comment on the election and results | Prohibited until 18:00 on polling day | Law No. 298, Art. 80 |
| Supreme Election Council news and communiqués (radio only) | Free 18:00 – 21:00 | Law No. 298, Art. 80 |
| All broadcasting | Free after 21:00 | Law No. 298, Art. 80 |
Consequences of a breach
Article 149/A of Law No. 298 (“Offences relating to private radio and television broadcasts”) is repealed: struck out by Article 10 of Decree Law No. 687 of 2 January 2017 and enacted as such by Article 10 of Law No. 7076 of 1 February 2018. Breaches are today assessed through Supreme Election Council and election board decisions and RTUK’s general powers under Law No. 6112.
Under Article 32/2 of Law No. 6112 a media service provider that broadcasts contrary to the principles, obligations or prohibitions laid down in the other articles of the Law, and/or fails to meet obligations determined by the Supreme Council, is fined one to three per cent of gross commercial communication revenue. Article 7/4 builds a separate ladder for broadcasting contrary to publication bans: suspension of one day, rising to five and then fifteen days on repetition within a year, with licence revocation on a third repetition.
A polling day checklist
- Give the Supreme Election Council decision for that election to the schedule editor in writing.
- Define fixed control points in the rundown at 18:00 and 21:00.
- Treat your social media accounts as broadcasting organs too — the ban says “all kinds of broadcasting organs”.
- Brief live guests on the ban hours before transmission.
- Keep the recording complete under Article 25/1; polling day examinations rest on it.
The election period regime is covered in the election period guide and advertising rules in the political advertising guide.