ECP issues media code of conduct for elections in Punjab
Pakistan
Observers are required to preserve sovereignty of country
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday issued a code of conduct for media observers for the upcoming Punjab elections which binds them to do so while preserving the sovereignty of Pakistan.
The code of conduct will apply to social media accounts of the media outlets too. An accreditation card will be required to enter a polling station.
As per the code of conduct, any observer will not broadcast or publish anything that goes against the dignity and independence of the judiciary, inciting and hateful speeches based on religion, creed, language, area, caste, and other contours.
As for the politicians’ blame game, the code binds an observer to take the other party’s point of view on the accusation before broadcasting the observation. A ban has also been imposed on the promotion of candidates and political parties using public money.
Candidates from ruling parties are obligated to provide details of expenses incurred on advertisements and no one will be allowed to run a campaign 48 hours before the election date.
Moreover, observers are required to broadcast results an hour after the election is held.
