DUSHANBE, September 28, 2013, Asia-Plus -- On the basis of the decision of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER), 30 minutes of free airtime will be allocated to each candidate on the national TV channels for presentation of their electoral platform, Abdumannon Dodoyev, the head of a CCER’s office, told Asia-Plus in an interview.

“Besides, 15 minutes of free airtime will be allocated to an authorized representative of a candidate,” Dodoyev noted.

According to him, presidential candidates also have the right to publish information about their electoral platform in the government-run print media in the volume of ten printed pages (font size 14 pt) free of charge.

Dodoyev also noted that the CCER was currently considering the issue of posting advertisements of presidential candidates on national broadcast media free of charge.

At the same time, the CCER official noted that some media mistakenly reported that Ms. Oynihol Bobonazarova was a single candidate of the Tajik Association of Reformist Forces (TARF).  “The TARF does not have the right to nominate a candidate for president,” said Dodoyev.  “To-date, she is the presidential candidate nominated by the Islamic Revival Party (IRP).”

The presidential election law provides that presidential candidates can be nominated by registered political parties, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, the Union of Youth of Tajikistan, as well as the council of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), the council of Dushanbe City, and councils of provinces, districts, and towns.