India intros 48-hour ban on election polls

INDIA-- Election officials have introduced rules barring the publication of opinion or exit polls in the 48 hours leading up to the closing of ballot boxes in elections for parliament and state legislative assemblies.

For multi-phase elections, where voting takes place at different times across different states, there is a blanket ban on publication starting two days before voting in the first phase closes, right through to the last ballot is cast in the final phase.

The Election Commission says such restrictions on publication are in the interests of maintaining free and fair elections in India.

An amendment to the Representation of the People Act is pending in parliament that will enshrine these guidelines in law.

The World Association for Public Opinion Research, which works to promote and protect pollsters and their work, says that “no statement about the outcome of an election based on exit polls should be published before all the polls in the contest have closed” – although it opposes the regulation of the conduct and reporting of polls in principle.

Author: Brian Tarran

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