Nepal
Media must follow election code of conductPosted Apr 19 2008
Several state-owned media organizations have broken the election code of conduct, according to The Kathmandu Post. Public and private media organizations must refrain from reporting news in a “prejudiced manner” and “biased for or against any party or its candidate” during the election season.
State-owned Radio Nepal, Nepal Television, the Gorkhapatra Daily and The Rising Nepal were accused of deliberately breaking the code.
The Election Commission asked officials of the offending organizations to adhere to the code, but the Nepali Congress has demanded stronger action by the commission and the Maoist leadership.
The code aims to prevent news organizations from supporting a particular party or spreading rumors. The code went into effect March 9 and all media organizations must observe a “silence period” from 48 hours before voting begins April 10.