ECP plans to ban large rallies, private media ads

Calls for disqualification of candidate with opinion prejudicial to Pakistan ideology

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday declared its intent to ban large political rallies, bar candidates from personal vilification of their foes and prohibit the use of private TV or radio channels for airing political advertisements.

The draft of the code of conduct, compiled by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for 2018 general elections, recommends disqualifying any political party or candidate found propagating opinions prejudicial to the ideology and sovereignty of Pakistan or ridiculing the judiciary and the armed forces.



Similarly, criticism against the ECP would be deemed contempt of court. The ECP would be sharing its 41-point draft with 16 mainstream political parties represented in parliament next week in a bid to solicit their opinion.

“During the election campaign, there shall be a complete ban on billboards, hoardings, banners, panaflexes, posters, flyers, all kinds of wall-chalking, Jalsas and Jaloos (rallies and large gatherings), use of loudspeakers and car rallies. Only corner meetings and use of megaphones will be permissible with prior permission of district administration under intimation to the Election Commission of Pakistan,” stated one of the clauses of the draft code.

However, political parties would be allowed to conduct door-to-door canvassing and distribute their party’s manifestos.

Political parties or eligible candidates and their supporters would be allowed to hoist party flags at public places only after written permission (were obtained) from local authorities and after paying prescribed fees. Any violation would entail punishment prescribed in Section 83A of Representation of the People Act (ROPA), 1976.

“Criticism of other political parties and opponent candidates shall be confined to their policies and programmes, past record and work. Parties and candidates shall refrain from criticism of any aspect of private life, not connected with public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties,” another clause of the new code stated.

“Criticism based on unverified allegations and distortion of facts shall be avoided. Violation shall entail punishment … contained in Section 78 of ROPA,” it stated.



The new code of conduct bars contestants and their supporters from deliberately disseminating false and malicious information, indulging in forgeries to defame other parties and their leaders and using ‘abusive’ language against each other.

Political parties, candidates and their supporters should not use any vehicle to transport to or from polling stations any elector except himself and members of his immediate family. This is already part of the previous code of conduct but was not enforced.

According to another clause, that is likely to affect revenues of private channels hoping to earn through electioneering advertisements, ECP wants to confine everyone to use only state media.

It also prohibits issuing advertisements to newspapers or other media at the cost of public exchequer. This means the federal or provincial governments and their sub-ordinate institutions would now not be allowed to issue politically-motivated advertisements after the announcement of the election schedule.

“The right of every individual for peaceful and undisturbed domestic life shall be respected … Organising demonstrations or picketing before the house of individuals … to protest against his political opinion or activities shall be prohibited under all circumstances.”

Election expenses

All candidates would be bound to open a bank account for all election-related expenses.

“If any persons incurs any election expenses on behalf of any candidate all such expenses would be deemed to have been incurred by the candidate. The contestants would submit a statement of expenses every Thursday to the DCO for the preceding week.”

It is highly unlikely that political parties or their candidates would adhere to such restrictions.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2016.