KATHMANDU: The National Information Commission (NIC) has urged all stakeholders to disseminate truthful, factual and objective information related to the upcoming election to the House of Representatives (HoR), scheduled for March 5.
Stressing the importance of responsible information flow, the Commission said the election must be free, fair and fear-free. NIC Commissioner and spokesperson Gagan Bista warned that misleading, false and biased information circulated during elections can seriously undermine the democratic process.
Bista emphasized that election-related information should be based on truth and reality, and made public in a timely and easily understandable manner. He also urged the government to keep relevant authorities active in monitoring and regulating false and misleading information.
According to the NIC, the Election Commission has highlighted the need to strengthen voter education, disseminate information through multilingual platforms, and publish election-related acts, laws, directives and codes of conduct on time.
Spokesperson Bista instructed political parties and candidates to share only factual information about their candidates and refrain from using abusive language, defamation, or false and misleading claims. He also directed parties to appoint information officers to disseminate official election-related information.
The NIC further reminded media outlets to strictly adhere to the principles of impartiality, balance and equal access while reporting election news, warning against publishing or broadcasting party or candidate promotional materials as news.
The Commission also called on the public to verify that information shared on social media and other platforms comes from official and reliable sources, and to report misleading content to the concerned authorities if encountered.
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