JAMMU, SEPTEMBER 2: To uphold the sanctity of the electoral process, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has laid down various guidelines for the print, electronic, and social media ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024.
These guidelines have been issued in the interest of transparency, the Commission said.
The ECI 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 shall 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.
The Commission asserted that the TV/Radio channels and cable networks should ensure that the contents of the programs telecast/broadcast/ displayed by them during the 48 hours referred to in Section 126 do not contain any material, including views/appeals by panelists/participants that may be construed as promoting/ prejudicing the prospect of any particular party or candidate(s) or influencing/ affecting the result of the election. This shall, 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 these 48 hours would also be prohibited, it said, adding that the prohibition also extends to political advertisements disguised in another form, like ads masquerading as news items/headlines.
The Commission 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 poll and continuing till half an hour after the closing of the poll in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
On internet websites and social media platforms, the Commission said that 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 25 October 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 UT-level and District-level.
The Commission also announced that the ‘Voluntary Code of Ethics’ formulated by IAMAI during the Lok Sabha election 2019, will be applicable in the forthcoming J&K Assembly Election, and thus asked all ‘all social media intermediaries under the umbrella of IAMAI’ to follow the voluntary code.
The Commission also informed that no political party or candidate or any other organization 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 UT-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, adding that an editor would be responsible for all matters, including advertisements in the newspapers.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections are scheduled to commence on 18 September 2024 in 3 Phases across the Union Territory.
