EC orders tracking of Facebook, YouTube promotion expenses in campaign spending

Candidates must submit statements of expenses within 30 days of the election result gazette’s publication

Candidates contesting in the parliamentary elections have been instructed to submit detailed accounts of campaign spending on social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, to their returning officers.

The Election Commission (EC) sent a letter to returning officers on Tuesday, instructing them to collect accurate information on the social media platforms used by candidates for campaigning and forward the details to the EC Secretariat’s public relations wing.

EC Secretariat Director (Public Relations) Md Ruhul Amin Mallik told bdnews24.com on Wednesday that the step had been taken to curb disinformation on digital platforms and to keep election expenditure under control.

Under the Political Parties and Candidates’ Code of Conduct, 2025, candidates, their election agents or others acting on their behalf are allowed to campaign on social media.

To do so, they must submit the names of the platforms used, along with account IDs, email addresses and all relevant identification details to the returning officer in advance.

The EC said any expenditure incurred for producing content, placing advertisements, boosting posts, or sponsorships on social media must be included in a candidate’s overall election expenses.

A complete and itemised account of such spending must be submitted to the returning officer.

Polling for the general election and referendum is scheduled for Feb 12.

Under the Representation of the People Order, candidates are required to submit statements of election expenses within 30 days of the publication of the gazette of results, while political parties must submit their expense statements within 90 days of the results being announced.