EC warns pollsters against bias

EC warns pollsters against bias

Pollsters have the right under the constitution to publish the results of their opinion surveys, but they must also be careful not to violate the local election law, Election Commission member Somchai Juengprasert said on Friday.

Mr Somchai said publication of the poll results is a legal form of expression of opinion and is not prohibited by EC announcements.

However, if they have an intention of misleading the public, or are hired to persuade eligible voters to vote or not to vote for a certain candidate, they may be in violation of Article 57 (5) of the Local Election Act.

If a complaint were filed against them the EC would have to investigate.  If in the investigation they were found at fault they would be liable to one to five years imprisonment, and/or or a fine of 20,000-100,000 baht and be banned from elections for five years under Article 131 of the same law.

Mr Somchai's comment came after some candidates running in the March 3 gubernatorial election asked the EC to ban opinion polls, saying that some pollsters had published their survey results in a way to lead people into voting for certain candidates, putting others at a disadvantage.

They also accused the pollsters of giving importance only to candidates representing Pheu Thai and Democrat parties and ignoring independent runners.

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