EC bans election graffiti and posters on walls

The Election Commission has banned graffiti and posters on walls during election campaigns, said an election commissioner Wednesday. The rules have been laid out in the amended code of conduct for contestants. "Graffiti and posting posters on walls are banned. The new rules will come out in a gazette in a few days," election commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told bdprem.com. But the candidates will be allowed to hang or post posters on separate boards in their areas. Multi-colour posters are banned. The highest punishment for violation of the rules in times of electioneering is cancellation of a nomination. The commission also submitted the draft of a new ordinance to the government to ban graffiti and use of posters for non-election purposes as well, with some exceptions. "We can now enforce the code of conduct only for the elections. The practice will be in force all the year round if there is a separate law in place," Sohul said. The Election Commission has started organising field-level workshops to make the candidates and political activists aware of the new rules. "We have completed training for related trainers such as deputy election commissioners and district election officers," Sohul said. The Election Commission will remain stringent on enforcing the rules besides raising public awareness about the new rules and regulations for local government and national polls, he said. Schedules for the elections to four city corporations and nine municipalities will be announced on June 20. Chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda and two other election commissioners launched a tour of divisional cities excluding Dhaka Wednesday, which will continue until June 30. NEW ORDINANCE The new proposed ordinance keeps a provision of handing down punishment to the guilty through mobile courts. The ordinance also says the mobile courts will have powers of fining a violator of the rules Tk 10,000 to Tk 50,000. In case of failure to pay the fine, the guilty will have to stay three months behind bars, according to the draft ordinance. There will be no embargo for any organisation to use advertisements or posters for the promotion of its commodities. Graffiti will be allowed for commercial advertisements.