IMC publishes preliminary report on media monitoring during elections
The Independent Media Commission has monitored the audiovisual media service providers (AMSPs) that covered the 2025 Local Elections campaign. According to this commission, the monitoring aimed to assess the performance of the AMSPs in accordance with the Election Law for General Elections and the Regulation on the Obligations of Media Service Providers during the Election Campaign.
In the press release, the IMC announces that the monitoring process was carried out throughout the entire election campaign period, from September 13, 2025 to October 12, 2025. For this purpose, terrestrial audiovisual media service providers (AVMS) with national, regional and local coverage, as well as AVMS with general programming operating through distribution operators, were monitored.
The monitoring was carried out for programs broadcast from 12:00 to 24:00. During the election period, during the monitoring of OSHMA, the legal provisions foreseen in the by-laws of the IMC were applied regarding fair and impartial access, child protection and audiovisual commercial communications, foreseen in: Regulation IMC-2024/03 on the Obligations of Media Service Providers during the Election Campaign; Code of Ethics for Media Service Providers in the Republic of Kosovo KKPM2016/035; Regulation IMC 2023/01 on the Protection of Children and Minors in Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, as well as Regulation IMC 2023/02 on Audio and Audiovisual Commercial Communications", the press release states.
It is further announced that during the monitoring, "impartiality in reporting, the space provided for SCPs, the language used, as well as compliance with the obligations arising from Chapter VIII of Law No. 08/L-228 on General Elections" were assessed.
The IMC assesses that, in general, the media included in the monitoring have provided space and covered the electoral activities of certain political entities.
However, during the monitoring period, violations were found such as: failure to identify political advertisements, use of offensive and inflammatory language, inclusion of children in political spots, failure to respect electoral silence, unauthorized sponsorship of political shows, publication of polls without meeting the criteria, and incitement of hatred on ethnic and religious grounds.
At the end of the report, brief conclusions are listed, which will be reviewed in the drafting of the final report.
"The IMC, through the Executive Office, has fulfilled its mandate to monitor, evaluate and respond to violations during the election campaign. Despite the IMC's commitment to timely notify the media and the media's experience in electoral processes, there have been a considerable number of violations of the law and IMC regulations by the OSHMAs, for which actions have been taken through notifications of violations and institutional addressing. Some of the media have failed to ensure equal treatment for competing entities," the IMC's conclusions state.
Here you can find the Preliminary Media Monitoring Report during the 2025 Local Election Campaign.
