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The National Media Council, NMC, issued a circular related to electoral campaigns on traditional media and social media, to ensure transparency and integrity among candidates.
The circular also aims to enforce commitment to relevant national media standards and advertising guidelines, in line with its Federal National Council, FNC, Elections Executive Instructions.
The circular highlights the need to distinguish paid electoral campaigns from regular news content, to ensure that the media does not influence voters in favour of specific candidates, as well as to fairly inform voters about the campaigns of all candidates.
It also stressed the importance of the commitment of all official media outlets – in every emirate – to adhere to candidature equality when presenting their campaigns and to clearly identify between the different types of news materials, and campaign advertisements.
Dr. Rashid Khalfan Al Nuaimi, Executive Director of Media Affairs at the NMC, said that the commitment of candidates and media outlets to relevant laws and regulations is important, to achieve transparency and integrity in the election process, as well as equality among candidates.
The circular included various materials published on social media, such as commercials, that are subject to national regulations stated on the NMC’s website, which prohibits the use of words or phrases that are inconsistent with the values and principles of the Emirati community, the UAE and the FNC.
Al Nuaimi then highlighted the importance of seeking assistance from licenced individuals and institutions, noting that the country’s e-media law prohibits promotions and advertisements on social media for money without approval from relevant authorities.
