The Georgian National Communications Commission (ComCom) has filed administrative violation reports against Imedi TV and Rustavi 2 for violating the Election Code. Rustavi 2 was penalized for failing to air paid political advertisements, while Imedi TV was found in violation for both not airing paid political ads and improperly publishing public opinion poll results.
ComCom received a complaint from the opposition political party Strong Georgia, which stated that Rustavi 2 did not broadcast the party’s paid political ads, despite having a contractual agreement. Similarly, Imedi TV also did not air the party’s paid election ads. The commission became aware that Imedi TV had publicly refused to broadcast opposition party ads.
According to Georgia’s Election Code, broadcasters are required to submit their paid advertising rates to the Central Election Commission (CEC) and ComCom within five calendar days, starting 60 days before the election, and these rates take effect from the 50th day. Once rates are published, broadcasters are legally obligated to air any submitted paid ads. Failure to do so constitutes a violation of the law. The commission’s guidelines also require broadcasters to prevent discrimination and ensure equal access for all political entities to advertise.
Additionally, on October 9, Imedi TV violated the Election Code by failing to provide key details when sharing public opinion poll results. The network did not disclose the sponsor of the poll, the methodology, the margin of error, or whether the poll was paid for. On October 10, when the results were published again, the same details were missing.
ComCom concluded that both Imedi TV and Rustavi 2 violated Georgia’s Election Code, and administrative violation reports have been filed against both broadcasters.
