ECI Cracks Down on Unregulated Campaigns: Pre-Certification Mandatory for Political Ads

The Election Commission of India Tuesday issued a directive requiring all political parties and candidates in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections to obtain pre-certification from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) for their political advertisements on electronic and social media.

Key directives include:
All political ads on electronic and social media must be certified by the MCMC before publication.

Advertisement

Committees have been formed at the district and state levels to oversee the certification process.

Candidates must share their authentic social media accounts when filing nominations.

Parties must submit expenditure statements for online campaigning within 75 days of election completion.

Consequences of non-compliance would be:
Penalties, including imprisonment and fines; and
Strict action against violators, including revocation of printing press licences.