TV ads for Awami League breach electoral rules: Rizvi

The BNP says the televised ads of the government’s development work just ahead of the election breaches the electoral rules.

The ruling Awami League is violating the electoral code of conduct by airing those ads on TV, BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said at a press conference in Dhaka on Wednesday.

“If you switch your TV on, you will see a “Thank You PM” ad on many channels. These ads are sponsored by different ministries,” Rizvi said.

“I would like to ask the chief election commissioner why this kind of publicity is going on just before the election?”

This is a clear violation of the rules for equal opportunities for all during the election campaign, Rizvi said. We urge the authorities to immediately stop these government-funded ads for the ruling Awami League.”

The Election Commission revised the polls schedule, deferring the 11th parliamentary election by a week to Dec 30. It set Nov 28 as the deadline for filing nomination papers, Dec 2 for scrutiny and Dec 9 as the last date of withdrawal.

“The Election Commission has turned a blind eye to these events. They are pretending not to see it,” Rizvi added.

“The EC wants to control the media during the 11th parliamentary election. For this reason, the media have been given various instructions, including shutting down the live coverage of events from the polling stations.”