SEC announces guidelines for upcoming civic polls 

No political campaigns between 8pm to 8am, nukkad sabhas on public roads prohibited

New Delhi

The State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday issued guidelines for the upcoming polls of the three municipal bodies. As per the guidelines political parties and contesting candidates will have to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines, during their campaigns. No rallies and public meetings will be allowed between 8 pm to 8 am on any campaign day. 

“Further, rallies and meetings shall be allowed only in earmarked places and with prior permissions of district administration. Nukkad Sabhas (meeting) will not be allowed on public roads, roundabouts or public streets or corners,” states SEC’s document titled ‘Model Code of Conduct For General Election For Three Municipal Corporations of Delhi - 2022’.

For door-to-door campaigns, a maximum of five individuals, including the candidate, will be allowed. The SEC also urged the political parties to conduct campaigns through digital platforms. 

“The maximum number of star campaigners for recognised national, state political parties has been fixed as 10, for unrecognised political parties, it is 5 . Request for permission for campaign by star campaigners may be given at least 48 hours before the start of campaign to make all necessary safety arrangement,” the document read.

The SEC also ruled that no victory processions after the counting of votes will be allowed.

Apart from this, the SEC also released the list of “Election Expenditure Observers” for the three municipal corporations – North, South and East. The limit of expenditure, incurred by a candidate, was increased to ₹8 lakh – which was ₹5.75 lakh in 2017.