Symbol Allotment Marks Start of Campaigning

On December 18, 2023, candidates received their symbols from returning officers, kicking off the campaign period until 8 am on January 5, two days before the January 7 polls. With a total of 18 days for campaigning, candidates must strictly adhere to the election code of conduct. As per the People’s Representation Order, campaigning with assigned symbols is allowed until 48 hours before polling. Election Commission Secretary Jahangir Alam revealed that 347 candidates withdrew, leaving 1896 in the running for the 12th National Assembly elections.

Instructions To Be Followed in The Election Campaign

Election restrictions have been mentioned in the notification regarding Rules of Conduct of Political Parties and Candidates, No. 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act on the EC website. They are as follows;

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Restrictions On Assembly

• Registered political parties or party nominees or independent candidates or any other person on their behalf shall have equal rights in campaigning. However, opposition meetings, processions, and other campaigns may not be organized or obstructed.
• Obtain written permission from the appropriate authority as to the date, time, and place of the meeting. However, such permission shall be granted in chronological order of receipt of the written application.

• Inform the local police authority of the place and time of the proposed meeting at least 24 hours before the proposed meeting, so that the police administration can take necessary measures to maintain traffic and law and order at the place;

• Shall not hold a public meeting or road meeting on any road which may obstruct the movement of the public and no other person shall similarly hold a public meeting or road meeting etc. on their behalf.
• The organizers of meetings shall resort to the police to take action against those obstructing the proceedings of any meeting or otherwise causing disturbance and shall not themselves take action against such persons.

Ban On Campaign Materials

• No candidate or any person on their behalf shall use any posters, leaflets, or handbills at the locations mentioned below:

Such as – buildings, walls, trees, fences, electricity or telephone poles, or any other punishable items in municipal and city corporation areas; in establishments of the government or local authorities located throughout the country; and on buses, trucks, trains, steamers, boats, rickshaws, or any other mode of transportation: provided that it is allowed to display posters, leaflets, or handbills anywhere in the country.

• Moreover, no opponent candidate’s posters, leaflets, handbills, etc., can be affixed or hung on any of the posters, leaflets, or handbills. Any damage, defacement, or destruction of those posters, leaflets, handbills, etc., is strictly prohibited.

• Election Campaign poster materials used by any opposing candidate must be in black-and-white and cannot exceed the dimensions of 23″ / 18″. The candidate’s symbol and photo, other than that of the candidate, must not be printed on the poster. However, if the opposing candidate is nominated by a recognized political party, in that case, only the photo of the current party leader can be printed on the poster.

Restrictions On the Use of Vehicles

• No registered political party or its nominee or independent candidate or any other person on their behalf shall take out any procession or torch procession or any showdown with any truck, bus, motorcycle, boat, train, or any other mechanical vehicle.
• Helicopters or any other aircraft shall not be used for election campaigning. However, it can be used for the travel of the party chief but cannot display or distribute leaflets, banners, or any other propaganda material from the helicopter during the travel.

Restrictions On Graffiti

• No registered political party or its nominee or independent candidate or any other person on their behalf shall carry out any election campaign by writing on the wall.

• Shall not make any promotional writing or drawing in ink or paint or otherwise on any building, pillar, house or roof, bridge, road island, road divider, vehicle or any other structure other than walls.

Gates, Arches, Pandals, Camps and Lighting Restrictions

• No registered political party or its nominee or independent candidate or any other person on their behalf shall construct any gate or archway or create any obstruction in the way of movement.
• Shall not construct any pandal occupying an area exceeding 400 (four hundred) square feet for election campaigning.
• Shall not carry out any kind of illumination using electricity as part of the election campaign.
• Shall not set up election camps on any roads or places designated for the movement and general use of the public. A candidate shall not set up a maximum of one electoral camp in each union and not more than one in each ward of each municipality or city corporation area irrespective of party and affiliate offices;
• Shall not use the image of the candidate or any promotional statement on behalf of the candidate or any shirt, jacket, fatwa, etc. for the election campaign and
• Shall not serve any soft drink or food or give any gift to the voters in the election camp.

Limitations On Inflammatory Speech, Disorderly Conduct, and Explosives

• No registered political party or its nominee or independent candidate or any other person on their behalf shall make any speech impersonating a personal character or make any speech that is offensive or inflammatory or offensive to gender, communal, or religious sentiments.
• shall not conduct any election campaign in mosques, temples, churches, or any other place of religious worship.
• shall not cause any damage to the land, building, or any other immovable or movable property of any citizen on the occasion of election and shall not disturb the peace of any person by wanton disturbance and disorderly conduct.

Other Restrictions

• Any registered political party or its nominee or independent candidate or any other person on their behalf shall restrict the use of microphones or other sound amplifying devices in any constituency between 2 PM to 8 PM.
• No registered political party or its nominated candidate or independent candidate or any other person on their behalf shall be allowed to use government propaganda machines, use government officials or employees, or use government vehicles for election purposes in the constituency, district concerned, or elsewhere after the declaration of election schedule and cannot enjoy or use facilities.

• Apart from this, in another circular, the EC said that elections cannot be influenced by money, weapons, muscle power, local influence, or government power. The local police authority should be informed in advance about the date, time, and place of the election rally or procession. A public meeting shall not be held on any road without the permission of the police authority obstructing the movement of people. Posters, leaflets, and handbills of any rival candidate shall not be placed on the posters, leaflets handbills, etc. of any other rival candidate. Government post bungalow, rest house, circuit house, or any government office shall not be used as a venue for any kind of campaigning.