The Election Commission (EC), in a directive on Saturday, said that there is scope to conduct election campaigns in favour of any aspirant before December 18, as legally, no one can be a candidate before that date.
"The campaigning period for the candidates has been fixed from December 18 this year to 8am on January 5, 2024," said an EC press release on Saturday.
Some of the dignitaries are making concocted statements in various electronic media talk shows or newspapers that the EC is indifferent in enforcing the electoral code of conduct, which can mislead the people, it said, adding: "It may negatively affect the upcoming elections by damaging public trust on the Election Commission as a constitutional body, which is not expected at all".
There is a rule titled Code of Conduct of Political Parties and Candidates in the Parliamentary Elections, 2008 to regulate election campaigns for general and by-polls of the parliament, the release said, adding that according to Section 5 of rules, political parties, nominated candidates or independent candidates have to follow the instructions mentioned in Section 6 to 14 of the rules.
According to the rules, candidates will not get more than 21 days to carry out the campaign, it said.
Election campaign can be carried out after finalizing the candidate list following scrutiny of the nomination papers and distribution of election symbols by returning officers and from that time the electoral code of conduct will come into effect for the candidates, the release said.
The release noted that before 21 days of the election, any kind of election campaign by any candidate or on behalf of the candidate is prohibited as per Section 12 of the rules.