PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY AS GENERAL RULES COMPONENT FOR MEDIA USING DURING THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN

The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of the principle of equality in mass media using in the course of election campaign. In particular, its essence, legal regulation and problems of practical implementation. According to the current election legislation of Ukraine, this principle has a complex nature, which is manifested in the aggregate: first, equal access conditions for candidates, parties (local organizations of parties) – subjects of the election process to specific mass media, as well as airtime or printed space ; secondly, equal conditions for candidates, parties (local organizations of parties) – subjects of the election process regarding payment for a unit of printed space and a unit of air time and is limited only to the maximum amount of expenses of the election fund. However, establishing that the amount of pre-election campaigning of a specific entity in mass media is limited exclusively to its financial capabilities, which are determined by the volume of its election fund and cannot exceed the established limit of such a fund, the legislator provides the opportunity for a candidate or party to independently decide what part of the funds of its election fund of the fund to be spent on financing pre-election campaigning in the mass media, but at the same time they cannot exceed the limit of the fund. At the same time, the VC determines the maximum size of election funds only in national elections. In turn, the maximum size of election funds for candidates and party organizations in local elections has not been determined. At the same time, if the equality of conditions of access to specific mass media, as well as airtime or printed space is guaranteed first of all by the ban on denying such access to mass media, then the equality of payment conditions is guaranteed by the obligation to publish prices in advance, as well as by the ban on providing a discount on the payment to an individual candidate, party (party organization) – the subject of the election process That is, it is established that it is inadmissible to make changes to the estimates established at the beginning of the election process until the end of the pre-election campaign during the relevant elections. Key words: the principle of equality, absolute equality, proportional equality, pre-election campaigning, election legislation.