EC imposes live broadcasting ban from polling booths in parliamentary, other polls
Maximum of two media personnel allowed inside a polling booth at any given time
The Election Commission (EC) of Bangladesh has issued a new policy for journalists covering national parliamentary and local government elections, prohibiting live broadcasting from inside polling booths and restricting access to a maximum of two journalists at a time per booth.
The "Policy for Journalists and Media Workers in Election News Gathering, 2025," signed by EC Secretary Akhtar Hossain, was issued today (23 July), outlining comprehensive guidelines for media personnel.
The new regulations specify that while valid card-holding journalists can enter polling centres, they must first notify the presiding officer before gathering information, taking photographs, or recording videos.
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A strict ban is imposed on photographing the secret ballot compartment. Furthermore, only a maximum of two media personnel are allowed inside a polling booth at any given time, with their presence limited to a maximum of 10 minutes.
Interviews with election officials, agents, or voters inside the polling booth are also prohibited. Direct live broadcasting from within the polling booth is strictly forbidden, and any live broadcasts from the polling centre must be conducted from a safe distance outside the booth.
During vote counting, journalists may be present and take photographs, but live broadcasting remains disallowed. The policy also extends the ban on live broadcasting from polling booths to social media platforms.
Although formulated ahead of the 13th parliamentary election, the EC has confirmed that this policy will apply uniformly to all future parliamentary and local government elections, including those for districts, upazilas, unions, municipalities, and city corporations.
The policy covers a broad range of media personnel, including those from authorised print outlets, television, online news portals, IPTV platforms, freelance journalists, international agencies, and foreign reporters.
EC-authorised press cards and stickers for vehicles and motorcycles will be distributed to approved applicants, with requests to be submitted at least one week before election day. The updated policy now allows the use of motorcycles, a change from the previous rule during the 12th parliamentary election, which prohibited them.
In the earlier guidelines, the EC had allowed only a "reasonable number" of car stickers per media house and banned the use of motorcycles altogether. The revised policy now states that both vehicles and motorcycles will be allocated a "reasonable number" of stickers by the EC.
The "Journalist Policy" finalised for the 12th parliamentary election contained similar prohibitions regarding live broadcasts from inside polling booths and the photography of secret ballot compartments.
