Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued the code of conduct and guidelines for local media for the coverage of General Elections 2018.

The media will be responsible in providing citizens with the correct information, according to the code of conduct.

The 13 guidelines for media are duty to inform the public, duty of balance and impartiality, laws restricting freedom of expression, duty to respect and promote tolerance, duty to punish attacks against media personnel and property, limits on prior restraint, limits on media liability, corrections and replies, news coverage: fair and balanced, direct access programmes, special information programmes and voter access, voter education, opinion polls and election projections and impartial reporting has been made mandatory by the electoral body.

The guidelines state that programmes biased in favour of or against any candidates or parties are not to be broadcast.

A ban, through the code of conduct, has also been imposed on reporting based on rumours and speculations.

On Tuesday, the ECP issued a 16-point code of conduct for foreign observers and international media for the upcoming polls, warning that the permission granted to international observatory missions can be cancelled if the code of conduct is violated.

According to the code of conduct, international observers and foreign media are required to submit an affidavit to cover the general election scheduled for July 25.

International observers and media have been barred from including personal opinions in official reports. However, the code of conduct allows assigned officials from observer organisations to pass personal comments on the election.

ECP also clarified that observers and media persons cannot stay in the country after their visa expires.

To ensure transparency in the upcoming polls, the ECP will be importing papers for the printing of ballot papers.

According to sources, 210 million ballot papers will be printed with more than Rs 2 billion being spent on the exercise, making it the most expensive venture in the history of the country’s elections.

The ballot papers are said to carry a watermark, something which none of the previous papers had.

The ECP has asked the district returning officers and the returning officers (RO) to send the number of ballot papers needed in each district, along with a list of voters by June 30.

The papers will also be printed in “round figures”, meaning if a polling station has 1,201 voters, 1,300 papers will be printed, the sources added.

Moreover, it was decided in a meeting at the ECP that the printing of ballot papers will commence from July 1 at printing presses in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi under the supervision of the Army.

The distribution of ballot papers will also be done under the army’s supervision.

The ECP has also requested the Defence Ministry to deploy 350,000 army personnel to be posted inside and outside the polling stations for a total of four days around polling day.

In a circular issued on Wednesday, the ECP reiterated for its staff the cancellation of all holidays, including the weekends, until the July 25 polls.

Directing supervisors to ensure the presence of their staff, the ECP expressed displeasure at the lax attitude of officials regarding work timings and observed that staff do not come in on weekends and also come to office late and leave early.

General elections will take place on July 25 across Pakistan.

A team of the European Union’s (EU) Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) reached Islamabad to monitor the election process.

The EU EOM also visited the ECP to hold a meeting with top officials.

The ECP has extended the facility of postal ballot to persons with disabilities (PWDs) for the upcoming general election.

PWDs can avail postal ballot paper facility to exercise their right to vote in general election 2018, the ECP said in a circular issued earlier.

Citizens with Computerised National Identity Card mentioning their disability can submit their applications requesting the postal ballot facility to the relevant returning officers by July 5.

The facility is also available for government employees who are unable to reach polling stations due to active election duty and prisoners in jails.

Deputy Election Commissioner Multan Shakeel Ahmad, elaborating on the procedure, said once the applications are received, the ROs would send back to the applicants a package containing two envelopes, postal ballots, a page carrying instructions and a declaration form.

Government employees would be required to get the declaration form signed by their respective heads of departments declaring they are government employees and deployed for active election duty.

Published in Daily Times, June 28^th 2018.