New Delhi: Ahead of the Delhi assembly elections in February, the Election Commission (EC) is closely monitoring the social media activities of political parties. The responsibility of tracking advertisements and posts on social media has been assigned to the EC’s Delhi counterpart.
Immediate action will be taken against excessive spending, objectionable posts, and claims deviating from the manifesto by political parties or candidates.
Social media guidelines for Delhi elections
Recognising social media as a major campaigning tool, the EC introduced guidelines a decade ago during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. These guidelines brought platforms like Facebook, X (then Twitter), WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat under the purview of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
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Major social media platforms, including Facebook and Google, had assured content monitoring during elections.
Election Commission issues directives
The EC has issued directives to ensure transparency and equal opportunities during elections:
- Mandatory Declaration: Candidates must provide their email IDs and authorised social media accounts when filing their nomination.
- Approval for Political Ads: Any political advertisement on internet-based platforms must be approved by an EC-designated official.
- Prohibited Content: Political parties and candidates are barred from posting unverified advertisements, hate speech or inflammatory content, fake news and images of security forces.
- Safeguarding Social Harmony: Posts disrupting the electoral process or threatening peace, social harmony, or public order are strictly prohibited.
Assembly elections on Delhi’s 70 seats will be held on February 5 and the counting of votes will be held on February 8. In the 2015 and 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured landslide victories, winning 67 and 62 seats respectively. The BJP managed three seats in 2015 and improved to eight in 2020, while the Congress failed to win any seats in both elections.
