Candidates have to show spend on campaign thru' cable TV

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday said candidates for parliament should include their spend on using the service of cable television operators for campaign purposes in their total election expenditure.
"The matter involves money; it's also business for cable television operators; so the outlay should be shown as election expenditure," he said.
The CEC was speaking at the launching ceremony of 'Code of Conduct for the Mass Media in Election Coverage', held at the Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management (BIAM) foundation.
Sources said the Election Commission (EC) will sit to think through the issue in a couple of weeks. The commission will also discuss it with cable television operators.
The EC developed the code of conduct with technical support from Unesco.
"The media should not broadcast election results or updates until the Election Commission officially approves or publishes them. It might otherwise create confusion among the people," said the CEC.
Terming the code of conduct for the mass media a gentleman's agreement, he said the EC has nothing to do beyond moral persuasion if anybody violates the code.
The code was prepared with a view to ensuring fair and balanced coverage of electoral process in the mass media.
It sees that candidates and political parties get equitable access to the mass media, voters get adequate and accurate information about matters relevant to elections and the mass media provide election education to voters including those who might have traditionally been marginalised and excluded.
The code mainly focuses on fair and balanced dissemination of all information and news and unbiased representation of election campaign irrespective of political party or candidate or ideology, highlighting ethics and morals of journalism.
Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat Hossain was present at the programme, presided over by Unesco representative to Bangladesh Malama Meleisea.