When nominations for the Delhi Assembly elections begin on November 9, candidates from various political parties will also be asked to provide details of their social media accounts at the time of filing of affidavits in Form 26.
Guidelines to be adopted
Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev said on Monday that the recent Election Commission of India guidelines will be adopted for the December 4 elections. Political parties and candidates are expected to account for every penny spent on the use of social media for their poll campaigns.
“We will keep a watch on the online content of political parties and candidates. All details will have to be provided at the time of nominations,” said Mr. Dev, adding that multiple IDs of candidates will also have to be recorded.
“Political parties will have to pre-certify content before they posting it on social media websites. In addition, expenditure incurred on social media will also be added to the expenditure of the political party and the candidate,” he added.
Regulate Internet campaigns
On October 25, the Election Commission had issued detailed guidelines to regulate Internet campaigns on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube by the political parties and their candidates. “Separate guidelines will be formed for private individuals posting political content on social media sites,” said Mr. Dev.
