16 COMMUNIST PARTY OF RUSSIA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT which public service broadcasting organisations may be compelled to broadcast official messages, declarations or communications, or to report on the acts or decisions of public authorities, or to grant airtime to such authorities, should be confined to exceptional circumstances expressly laid down in laws or regulations ...”. Finally, in the Appendix to Recommendation Rec(2000)23 on “The Independence and Functions of Regulatory Authorities for the Broadcasting Sector”, the Committee of Ministers again stressed the importance for States to adopt detailed rules covering the membership and functioning of such regulatory authorities so as to protect against political interference and influence. 53. Recommendation no. R (99) 15 of Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on measures concerning media coverage of election campaigns provided that regulatory frameworks in Member States should provide for the obligation of TV broadcasters (both private and public) to cover electoral campaigns in a fair, balanced and impartial manner, in particular, in their news and current affairs programmes, including discussion programmes such as interviews or debates. The Committee of Ministers also recommended the States to examine the advisability of including in their regulatory frameworks provisions whereby free airtime is made available to candidates on public broadcasting services in electoral time, “in a fair and non-discriminatory manner”, and “on the basis of transparent and objective criteria”. 54. The Inter-Parliamentary Council (a body of the Inter-Parliamentary Union based in Geneva), at its 154th session in Paris, on 26 March 1994 adopted the “Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections”. Pursuant to that Declaration every candidate must have an equal opportunity of access to the media, particularly the mass communications media, in order to put forward their political views (Article 3 § 4). Everyone must have the right to campaign on an equal basis with other political parties, including the party forming the existing government; and to seek, receive and impart information and make an informed choice (Article 3 § 3). The States must ensure non-partisan coverage in State and public-service media and equality of access to such media (Article 4).