Symbol for ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option.
Symbol for ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option.
It may be
recalled that the Election Commission of India had introduced ‘NOTA’ – ‘None of
the Above’ option on ballot papers displayed on EVMs and all other ballot
papers with effect from 11th October, 2013, pursuant to Supreme Court’s Order
dated 27th September, 2013.
The Election
Commission of India has now introduced a specific symbol, like other election
symbols, shown below, for ‘None of the Above (NOTA)’ option, to facilitate the
voters in exercising their NOTA option.
This symbol will now appear in the last panel on all EVMs and the others
ballot papers against the ‘None of the Above (NOTA)’ option at all elections to
be held from now onwards. The necessary
instructions have been issued to all the Chief Electoral Officers in this
regard.
The main
objective of the ‘NOTA’ option is to enable electors who do not wish to vote
for any of the candidates to exercise their right not to vote for any candidate
without violation of the secrecy of their decision.
The symbol for ‘None of the Above (NOTA)’
option has been designed by National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad.
The NOTA symbol
********
General election to Legislative Assembly of Bihar, 2015 –
Media Coverage during the period referred to in Section 126 of RP Act, 1951.
The schedule for calling general election to the Legislative
Assembly of Bihar has been announced on 9th September, 2015. Poll is scheduled
to be held in 5 (five) phases. Section 126 of Representation of the People Act,
1951, prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of
television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before the hour
fixed for conclusion of poll in a constituency. The relevant portions of the
said Section 126 are re- produced below: -
(126. Prohibition of public meeting during period of
forty-eight hours ending with hour fixed for conclusion of poll-
(1) No person shall –
(a) ………………….
(b) Display to the
public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other
similar apparatus;
(c) …………………….
In any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours
ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in
the polling area.
(2) Any person who
contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with
both.
(3) In this Section,
the expression “election matter” means any matter intended or calculated to
influence or affect the result of an election.)
2. During
elections, there are sometimes allegations of violation of the provisions of
the above mentioned Section 126 of Representation of the People Act, 1951 by TV
channels in the telecast of their panel discussions/debates and other news and
current affairs programmes. As above mentioned, the said Section 126 prohibits
displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar
apparatus, during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for conclusion
of poll in a constituency. “Election matter” has been defined in that Section
as any matter intended or calculated to influence or affect the result of an
election. Violation of the aforesaid provisions of Section 126 is punishable
with imprisonment upto a period of two years, or with fine or both.
3. The
Commission once again reiterates that the TV/Radio channels and cable networks
should ensure that the contents of the programme telecast/broadcast/displayed
by them during the period of 48 hours referred to in Section 126 do not contain
any material, including views/appeals by panelists/participants that may be
construed as promoting/prejudicing the prospect of any particular party or
candidate(s) or influencing/affecting the result of the election. This shall,
among other things, include display of result of any opinion poll and of
standard debates, analysis, visuals and sound-bytes.
4. In this
connection, attention is also invited to Section 126A of the R.P. Act 1951,
which prohibits conduct of Exit poll and dissemination of their results during
the period reckoned from the commencement of polls in the first phase and till
half hour after the close of poll for the last phase in the State.
5. During the
period not covered by Section 126 or Section 126A, concerned TV/Radio/Cable/FM
channels are free to approach the state/district/local authorities for
necessary permission for conducting any outdoor broadcast related events which
must also conform to the provisions of the model code of conduct and the
programme code laid down by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under
the Cable Network (Regulation) Act with regard to decency, maintenance of
communal harmony, etc. They are also required to stay within the provisions of
Commission’s guidelines dated 27th August, 2012 regarding paid news and related
matters. Concerned Chief Electoral Officer/District Election Officer will take
into account all relevant aspects including the law and order situation while
extending such permission. As regards political advertisements, the same needs
pre-telecast/broadcast certification by the Committees set up at the
State/District level as per the Commission’s order No. 509/75//2004/JS-I dt
15.04.2004.
6. Attention of
all print media is also drawn to the following guidelines issued by Press
Council of India to be followed for observance during the election:
(i) It will be
the duty of the Press to give objective reports about elections and the
candidates. The newspapers are not expected to indulge in unhealthy election
campaigns, exaggerated reports about any candidate/party or incident during the
elections. In practice, two or three closely contesting candidates attract all
the media attention. While reporting on the actual campaign, a newspaper may
not leave out any important point raised by a candidate and make an attack on
his or her opponent.
(ii) Election
campaign along communal or caste lines is banned under the election rules.
Hence, the Press should eschew reports, which tend to promote feelings of
enmity or hatred between people on the ground of religion, race, caste,
community or language.
(iii) The Press
should refrain from publishing false or critical statements in regard to the
personal character and conduct of any candidate or in relation to the
candidature or withdrawal of any candidate or his candidature, to prejudice the
prospects of that candidate in the elections. The Press shall not publish
unverified allegations against any candidate/party.
(iv) The Press
shall not accept any kind of inducement, financial or otherwise, to project a
candidate/party. It shall not accept hospitality or other facilities offered to
it by or on behalf of any candidate/party.
(v) The Press is
not expected to indulge in canvassing of a particular candidate/party. If it
does, it shall allow the right of reply to the other candidate/party.
(vi) The Press
shall not accept/publish any advertisement at the cost of public exchequer
regarding achievements of a party/government in power.
(vii) The Press
shall observe all the directions/orders/instructions of the Election
Commission/Returning Officers or Chief Electoral Officer issued from time to
time.
7. Attention of the electronic media is also
invited to the “Guidelines for Election Broadcasts” issued by NBSA dt 3rd
March, 2014.
(i)
News broadcasters should endeavour to inform the public in an objective
manner, about relevant electoral matters, political parties, candidates,
campaign issues and voting processes as per rules and regulations laid down
under The Representation of the People Act 1951 and by the Election Commission
of India.
(ii) News channel
shall disclose any political affiliations, either towards a party or candidate.
News broadcasters have a duty to be balanced and impartial, especially in their
election reporting.
(iii) News
broadcasters must endeavour to avoid all forms of rumor, baseless speculation and
disinformation, particularly when these concern specific political parties or
candidates. Any candidate/political party, which has been defamed or is a
victim of misrepresentation, misinformation or other similar injury by
broadcast of information should be afforded prompt correction, and where
appropriate granted an opportunity of reply.
(iv) News
broadcasters must resist all political and financial pressures which may affect
coverage of elections and election related matters.
(v) News
broadcasters should maintain a clear distinction between editorial and expert
opinion carried on their news channels.
(vi) News
broadcasters that use video feed from political parties should disclose it and
appropriately tag it.
(vii) Special care
must be taken to ensure that every element of a news/programmes dealing with
elections and election related matters is accurate on all facts relating to
events, dates, places and quotes. If by mistake or inadvertence any inaccurate information
is broadcast, the broadcaster must correct it as soon as it comes to the
broadcaster’s notice with the same prominence as was given to the original
broadcast.
(viii) News
broadcasters, their journalists and officials must not accept any money, or
gifts, or any favour that could influence or appear to influence, create a
conflict of interest or damage the credibility of the broadcaster or their
personnel.
(ix) News
broadcasters must not broadcast any form of
‘hate speech’ or other obnoxious content that may lead to incitement of
violence or promote public unrest or disorder as election campaigning based on
communal or caste factors is prohibited under Election laws. News broadcasters
should strictly avoid reports which tend to promote feelings of enmity or
hatred among people, on the ground of religion, race, caste, community, region
or language.
(x) News
broadcasters are required to scrupulously maintain a distinction between news
and paid content. All paid content should be clearly marked as “Paid
Advertisement” or “Paid Content” : and paid content must be carried in
compliance with the “Norms &
Guidelines on Paid News” dated 24.11.2011.
(xi) Special care
must be taken to report opinion polls accurately and fairly, by disclosing to
viewers as to who commissioned, conducted and paid for the conduct of the
opinion polls and the broadcast. If a news broadcaster carries the results of
an opinion poll or other election projection, it must also explain the context,
and the scope and limits of such polls with their limitations. Broadcast of
opinion polls should be accompanied by information to assist viewers to
understand the poll’s significance, such as the methodology used, the sample
size, the margin of error, the fieldwork dates, and data used. Broadcasters
should also disclose how vote shares are converted to seat shares.
(xii) The Election
Commission of India (ECI) will monitor the broadcasts made by news broadcasters
from the time elections are announced until the conclusion and announcement of
election results. Any violation by member broadcasters reported to the News
Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) by the Election Commission will be
dealt with by the NBSA under its regulations.
(xiv) Broadcasters
should, to the extent possible, carry voter education programmes to effectively
inform voters about the voting process, the importance of voting, including
how, when and where to vote, to register to vote and the secrecy of the ballot.
(xv) News broadcasters
must not air any final, formal and definite results until such results are
formally announced by the Returning Officer, unless such results are carried
with clear disclaimer that they are unofficial or incomplete or partial results
or projections which should not be taken as final results.
The above
guidelines should be duly observed for compliance by all concerned.
********
General Election to Legislative Assembly of
Bihar, 2015 –
Allotment of Broadcast / Telecast time to
Political Parties – regarding
A copy of the Order No.437/TA-LA2015/Communication, dated
18th September, 2015 issued by the Commission
regarding allotment of Broadcast/Telecast time to political parties in the
General Election toLegislative Assemblies of Bihar, 2015 is enclosed for
the information of the general public.
ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi-110001
No.
437/TA-LA2015/Communication Dated:
18th September, 2015
ORDER
At the time of General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 1998, a new initiative for
State funding of recognized political parties through free use of the State
owned Television and Radio was introduced under directions of the Commission
vide its Order, dated 16th January, 1998. The said
scheme was subsequently extended in all the General Elections to the State
Assemblies held after 1998 and General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 1999,
2004, 2009 & 2014.
With the amendments to the Representation of the People
Act, 1951 vide "Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment)
Act, 2003" and the rules notified there under, equitable time sharing for
campaigning by recognized political parties on electronic media now has
statutory basis. In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of the
Explanation below section 39A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,
the Central Govt. has notified all such broadcasting media which are owned or
controlled or financed wholly or substantially by funds provided to them by the
Central Government as the electronic media for the purposes of that section.
Therefore, the Commission has decided to extend the said scheme of equitable
time sharing on electronic media through Prasar Bharati Corporation to the
ensuing General Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar.
The facilities of use of broadcast time and telecast time
will be available only to ‘National Parties’ and ‘Recognized State Party’ in
respect of Bihar.
THE
SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1. The
facilities will be available from the Regional Kendra of the All India Radio
and Doordarshan and in the headquarters of Bihar and relayed by other stations
within Bihar.
Time allotted for Telecast/Broadcast:
2. A
base time of 45 minutes will be given to each National Party and Recognized
State Party (recognized in respect of Bihar) uniformly on the Regional Kendras
of Doordarshan network and All India Radio network in the State of Bihar.
3. The
additional time to be allotted to the parties has been decided on the basis of
the poll performance of the parties in the last assembly election from the
State of Bihar.
4. In
a single session of broadcast, no party will be allocated more than 15 minutes.
Date of Telecasts/Broadcasts:
5. The
period of broadcast and telecast will be between the last date of filing the
nominations and two days before the date of poll (in each phase) in the State
of Bihar.
6. The
Prasar Bharati Corporation in consultation with the Commission will decide the
actual date and time for broadcast and telecast. This will be subject to the
broad technical constraints governing the actual time of transmission available
with the Doordarshan and All India Radio.
Submission
of Transcripts in advance:
7. The
guidelines prescribed by the Commission for telecast and broadcast will be
strictly followed. The parties will be required to submit transcripts
and recording in advance. The parties can get this recorded at their
own cost in studios, which meet the technical standards prescribed by the
Prasar Bharati Corporation or at the Doordarshan/All India Radio Kendra. They
can, in the alternative, have these recorded in the studios of Doordarshan and
All India Radio by advance requests. In such cases, the recordings may be done
at the State Capital and at timings indicated by Doordarshan /All India Radio
in advance.
Panel Discussions and Debate:
8. In
addition to the broadcast by parties, the Prasar Bharati Corporation will
organise a maximum of two panel discussions and/or debates on the
Kendra/Station of Doordarshan/All India Radio. Each eligible party can nominate
one representative to such a programme.
9. The
Election Commission of India will approve the names of coordinators for such
panel discussions and debates in consultation with the Prasar Bharati
Corporation.
Guidelines
for observance in Telecasts/Broadcasts :
10.
The telecasts/broadcasts on Doordarshan/AIR will not permit:
(a) criticism
of other countries;
(b) attack on
religions or communities;
(c) anything
obscene or defamatory;
(d) incitement
of violence;
(e) anything
amounting to contempt of court;
(f)
aspersion against the integrity of the President and Judiciary;
(g) anything
affecting the unity, sovereignty and integrity of the Nation;
(h) any
criticism by name of any person.
Time Vouchers for Parties:
11. Time
Vouchers will be available in the denomination of 5 minutes with one voucher
having time allotment from 1 to 4 minutes and the parties will be free to
combine them suitably. The allotment of time to different political parties is
given in a statement enclosed herewith.
By order,
(Dhirendra Ojha)
Director
GENERAL ELECTION TO
THE STATE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF BIHAR 2015
Time available to National Parties & State Parties on
Regional Kendras/State Capital Kendras of
Doordarshan/All India Radio
Name of State/U.T.
|
Name of National/ State Party
|
Total time allotted in minutes for
|
No. of Time Vouchers issued for
|
||
Broadcast
|
Telecast
|
Broadcast
|
Telecast
|
||
Bihar
TOTAL
|
BJP
|
137
|
137
|
27
(5 minutes each) + 1 (2 minutes)
|
27
(5 minutes each) + 1 (2 minutes)
|
BSP
|
63
|
63
|
12
(5 minutes each) + 1 (3 minutes)
|
12
(5 minutes each) + 1 (3 minutes)
|
|
CPI
|
55
|
55
|
11
(5 minutes each)
|
11
(5 minutes each)
|
|
CPI (M)
|
49
|
49
|
9 (5
minutes each) + 1 (4 minutes)
|
9 (5
minutes each) + 1 (4 minutes)
|
|
INC
|
92
|
92
|
18
(5 minutes each) + 1 (2 minutes)
|
18
(5 minutes each) + 1 (2 minutes)
|
|
NCP
|
55
|
55
|
11
(5 minutes each)
|
11
(5 minutes each)
|
|
JD(U)
|
171
|
171
|
34
(5 minutes each) + 1 (1 minute)
|
34
(5 minutes each) + 1 (1 minute)
|
|
LJP
|
83
|
83
|
16
(5 minutes each) + 1 (3 minutes)
|
16
(5 minutes each) + 1 (3 minutes)
|
|
RJD
|
150
|
150
|
30
(5 minutes each)
|
30
(5 minutes each)
|
|
RLSP
|
45
|
45
|
9 (5
minutes each)
|
9 (5
minutes each)
|
|
900
|
900
|
||||
LIST OF POLITICAL PARTIES
Sl.No.
|
Abbreviation
|
Status
|
Name of Party
|
1
|
BJP
|
National Party
|
Bharatiya Janata Party
|
2
|
BSP
|
National Party
|
Bahujan Samaj Party
|
3
|
CPI
|
National Party
|
Communist Party of India
|
4
|
CPI (M)
|
National Party
|
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
|
5
|
INC
|
National Party
|
Indian National Congress
|
6
|
NCP
|
National Party
|
Nationalist Congress Party
|
7
|
JD(U)
|
State Party
|
Janata Dal (United)
|
8
|
LJP
|
State Party
|
Lok Jan Shakti Party
|
9
|
RJD
|
State Party
|
Rashtriya Janata Dal
|
10
|
RLSP
|
State Party
|
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party
|
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