The government has proposed an amendment bill to give equal time on TV for candidates in this year’s presidential election.

The current regulation states that, from the time the candidates are registered until 6pm the day before election, broadcasters should allot time for the candidates and their political parties to advertise.

It also states that broadcasters should publicly announce their price for TV spots and that those spots should be sold equally to all candidates.

The new amendment bill states that the time allotted for each candidate should not diverge by more than 10 percent and that TV spots cannot be sold. The bill will also give the broadcasting commission (Broadcom) the power to penalize any broadcaster that violates the new rules.

Holhudhoo MP Ali Mohamed, who proposed the bill on behalf of the government, said that Broadcom should establish a regulation to penalize violators and another regulation to receive complaints regarding those violators. The two regulations should be established one month after the bill is ratified.

The bill also states that Broadcom should send a case to the Elections Commission (EC) after investigating complaints.