ECI lays down media guidelines for poll transparency

Jammu, Sep 02: To uphold the sanctity of the electoral process, the Election Commission of India (ECI) Monday laid down various guidelines for the print, electronic, and social media ahead of the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

These guidelines have been issued in the interest of transparency, the ECI said.

It reiterated the guidelines laid down in Section 126(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television, cinematograph, or similar apparatus in any polling area during 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in the polling area. “No person should display to the public any election matter intended or circulated to influence or affect the result of an election,” it said. “Violation of the aforesaid provisions of Section 126 is punishable with imprisonment up to two years, or with fine or both.”

The ECI said that the TV, radio channels, and cable networks should ensure that the contents of the programmes telecast, broadcast, or displayed by them during the 48 hours referred to in Section 126 do not contain any material, including views, appeals by panellists, participants that may be construed as promoting, prejudicing the prospect of any particular party or candidates or influencing or affecting the result of the election.

This should among other things include the display of any opinion poll and standard debates, analysis, visuals, and sound bytes.

Political advertisements on any election matter in TV, cable networks, radio, cinema halls, use of bulk SMS, voice messages, and audio-visual displays in any polling area during this 48-hour-long period would also be prohibited, it said.

The ECI said that the prohibition also extends to political advertisements disguised in another form, like ads masquerading as news items and headlines.

The ECI also reiterated the ban on the conduct of exit polls and dissemination of its results from the beginning of hours fixed for a poll on the first day of the polls and continues till half an hour after the closing of the poll in J&K.

It said that on internet websites and social media platforms, the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and ECI guidelines No-491/SM/2013/Communication, dated October 25, 2013, for all political content on their platform, even as the political advertisements on electronic media need pre-certification by the committees set up at J&K-level and district-level.

The ECI also announced that the ‘Voluntary Code of Ethics’ formulated by IAMAI during Lok Sabha 2019 polls, would be applicable in the forthcoming J&K assembly polls, and thus asked all ‘all social media intermediaries under the umbrella of IAMAI’ to follow the voluntary code.

The ECI said that no political party or candidate or any other organisation or person would publish any advertisement in the print media on the poll day or one day before poll day unless the contents of political advertisements are pre-certified by them from the MCMC committee at J&K-level and district-level, as the case may be.

“There should be explicit restrictions on advertisements predicting the victory of a particular party and any form of speculative content related to election outcomes should be avoided,” the ECI said. “An editor will be responsible for all matters, including advertisements in the newspapers.”

The J&K assembly polls are scheduled to commence on September 18 in three phases across J&K.