The Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified that political parties or candidates if issuing political e-advertisements will have to obtain prior certification from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) which is mandatory.
Confusion prevailed earlier regarding the political advertisements being released in the social media like websites, Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter handle by the political parties and candidates as there was no clear cut guidelines on it.
Even though the ECI had included these in the electronic media but there are no specific rules and Acts for it like the electronic media of television. MCMC were finding problems to earmark what will be the status of such e-advertisements.
Clarifying the situation, Dhirendra Ojha, Director (IC, COM, OTD) , ECI , through video-conferencing interacted with all the MCMC members based in Chhattisgarh.
Ojha said that observing the impact and wide use of electronic and social media by political parties and candidates, e-advertisement is being given for voting, political benefit or any other party or candidate, for which now prior certification is required. Now the expenses incurred for it would be added with political parties and candidates’ election expenditure.
He clarified that personel account of candidate having political materials posted will not be part of election expenses but other platforms, social sites, e-paper along with any other electronic medium, if the political advertisement is recreated and processed, then it would be included as part of expense.
Ojha further said that political parties can certify the e-advertisements at state level MCMC while candidates can do it through district level MCMC.
During video conferencing Joint Chief Electoral Officer Sameer Vishnoi and Padmini Bhoi Sahu, Deputy CEO Shrikant Verma, Assistant CEO Sharda Agrawal, State level MCMC members among others was present.