Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya yesterday said that all media institutions including the private media agreed to implement the guidelines outlined by the department during the election period. He said the private media was exempted from the execution of the Elections Commissioner’s orders under the 19th Amendment.
Speaking at a press conference at the Elections Secretariat yesterday, Deshapriya said a committee comprising representatives of all media institutions in the country and department officials was formed to implement the guidelines.
All media institutions agreed to implement these guidelines, he said. “The state media is bound to abide by the guidelines outlined by the Department of Elections during the election period,” Deshapriya said.
He added that the private media is also bound indirectly to implement these guidelines. The Elections Commissioner added that the code of ethics for the candidates and the media guidelines will be sent to the secretaries and leaders of political parties. “This code of ethics and the media guidelines will be gazetted,” he said.
Chaminda Perera/ CDN