Bihar polls: EC directs pre-certification of political ads; candidates to declare social media accounts

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked all registered national and state political parties, and contesting candidates, to obtain pre-certification for all political advertisements on electronic and social media from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) before publication.

These directions were issued to political parties on October 9 in the context of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections and byelections on eight seats in six states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

MCMCs have been constituted at the district and state levels for pre-certification of political advertisements as per the prescribed guidelines, the ECI order said.

The ECI has made it clear that no political advertisement may be released on any internet-based media, including social media, without pre-certification from the respective MCMC.

The poll body also instructed MCMCs to monitor suspected cases of paid news and take suitable action.

Further, given the penetration of social media in elections, candidates are required to share details of their official social media accounts at the time of filing nominations.

According to Section 77(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the directions of Supreme Court, political parties should also submit a statement of expenditure on internet and social media campaigning to the ECI within 75 days of the elections.

This includes payments to internet companies for advertisements, content development costs, and operational expenses for maintaining social media accounts.

The Bihar assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results declared on November 14.

The byelections on eight seats in six states and Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled for November 11, with results also announced on November 14.