ISLAMABAD, April 3: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has approved a ‘code of conduct for media’ — the guidelines to be observed by media, political parties and even the state institutions while covering the general elections.

The code of conduct has 15 guidelines covering all segments and stakeholders about media coverage of election activities from the start of campaigning till the announcement of results.

According to the guidelines, media will not be responsible for unlawful statements made by candidates or party representatives during live broadcast of election campaigns, but it will not apply to repeat/recorded telecasts or publications. The ECP has said a candidate or party which has been defamed or is a victim of gross misrepresentation or other illegal injury by broadcast of information should be entitled to a correction and should have an appropriate opportunity to reply.

The ECP has also decided to formulate a ‘regulatory and complaints mechanism’ for implementation of a ‘media code of ethics’ to be prepared by representatives of various media organisations. The complaint committee will be headed by an additional director general (PR) of the Election Commission and it will comprise representatives from media organisations, including PBA, APNS, PCP, CPNE, PTV, PBC, PFUJ, SAFMA and SAWN.

About ‘opinion polls and election projections’, the ECP guidelines said if a broadcaster/newspaper published the results of an opinion poll or election projection, they should try to report the results fairly and in a proper context explaining the scope and limits of such polls that have their own peculiar limitations.

“Opinion polls should be accompanied by information to assist viewers/listeners to understand the poll’s significance, such as who conducted, commissioned and paid for the poll, the methodology used, the sample size, the margin of error, the fieldwork dates, and data used,” the ECP has said.