National
Silence period on
The silence period—when election campaigning is prohibited in all forms—that began on Sunday midnight will remain until voting is held on Wednesday for the second phase of local polls.The silence period—when election campaigning is prohibited in all forms—that began on Sunday midnight will remain until voting is held on Wednesday for the second phase of local polls.
The elections are taking place at 334 local units in provinces 1, 5 and 7. According to the Local Level Election Directives-2017, the silence period begins 48 hours ahead of the polling day.
Right before the publicity ban, political parties and candidates intensified their campaigns on Sunday.
There are more than 62,000 candidates including the parties’ nominees and independents.
The EC said in a statement on Sunday that any party, institution, candidate or individual should not engage in poll publicity even on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
It warned that those caught campaigning in violation of the prohibition would be punished according to the Election Commission Act. Those violating the code of conduct face fines up to Rs100,000.
Several complaints of not maintaining silence were registered with the EC even before the May 14 polling in the first phase. “But I’m not sure about the exact number of complaints and the actions taken over them,” said EC Spokesperson Surya Sharma.
As per the code, social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Viber and SMSes should not be used for campaigns during the silence period.
The 300-metre perimeter of polling centres has to be cleared of election symbols and publicity materials before the silence period begins.