Staff Correspondent

Journalists will not be allowed to stay inside a polling booth for more than 10 minutes or go live from within the booth or on social media platforms like Facebook, according to a set of new guidelines issued by the Election Commission for media personnel covering the election news.

As per the ‘Guidelines for Journalists/Media Personnel Assigned to Cover Election News 2025,’ the journalists with valid accreditation cards issued by the Election Commission can enter the polling centres. 

Upon entry, they must inform the presiding officer before gathering election-related information, taking photographs or recording videos.

The journalists are, however, strictly barred from capturing images or videos inside the secret place of the polling booths in line with the guidelines issued last week ahead of the 13th parliamentary election.   

The key directives for journalists under the guidelines include: journalists from more than two media outlets may not enter a single polling booth at the same time, and their stay must not exceed 10 minutes; journalists are not allowed to interview election officials, polling agents, or voters inside the polling booth; livestreaming from inside polling booths is strictly prohibited; and If livestreaming is to be done from a polling station, it must be carried out from a safe distance outside the polling booth without disrupting the voting process.

The directives also include: journalists may enter the vote counting room, observe the process, and take photographs, but may not livestream; no live broadcasts via Facebook or any social media platform are permitted from within polling booths; journalists must refrain from any actions that may obstruct polling activities; journalists must follow lawful instructions issued by the presiding officer at polling stations. 

The remaining directives are journalists are prohibited from interfering in the duties of election officials; touching or removing any election materials is forbidden; journalists must avoid any form of campaigning or inflammatory content, whether for or against a candidate or political party, while covering election events; and journalists are expected to abide by election laws and rules to support the electoral process.

The guidelines further states that if any journalist violates these instructions, the media pass card issuing authority can revoke the cards. Besides, action may be taken under election laws and rules against both the journalist and the respective media outlet.

Like the previous guidelines issued in 2023, though the words ‘international news agency’ have been mentioned, the ‘local news agency’ have not stated in the new guidelines, which will be applicable for both the national election and local government elections.

"To ensure a free, fair, and peaceful election, the Election Commission of Bangladesh has issued the guidelines allowing journalists to enter polling stations and collect election-related news from electoral areas," said in the guidelines published, bringing almost no changes from the 2023 guidelines.