The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday announced dates for the Lok Sabha elections. This year, the general elections will be held in seven phases starting from April 11, and the counting of votes will take place on May 23. Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora, announced several stringent decisions. Among all the announcements; social media campaigning a part of Model Code of Conduct, has come out as a significant decision by the ECI. This is happening for the first time that the Lok Sabha Election candidates have been asked to furnish their details of social media account to the ECI. Below are the guidelines on social media campaigning by the ECI. What is MCC or Aachar Sanhita? Why It's Needed & How is it Enforced? All You Need to Know. 

CEC Sunil Arora During Press Meeting

ECI Social Media Campaign Guidelines

There are many active users on Facebook and other social media platforms alike, reaching crores of people in a day. With such a broad reach, candidates have been instructed to stop their campaign 48 hours ahead of polling to maintain the campaign silence. Besides, the ECI has also set certain social media usage norms for Lok Sabha candidates. For 2019, all political advertisement online will also require P-certification. Further, all the expenditure on election campaigns for social media will be included in the election expenditure account. Above all, CEC Sunil Arora also said that all provision of the moral code of conduct would be applied to the content being posted on social media by the political parties’ candidates. Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Detailed Schedule. 

The intermediator Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube have reportedly ensured in writing that any political advertising published on their platforms will be certified from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC). With about 90 crore voters, 10 lakh booths in 543 constituencies, the nation is set to host its 17th Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The tenure of the present Lok Sabha ends on June 3, 2019.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 10, 2019 07:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).