EC orders separate poll account

Delhi elections : Candidates to open bank accounts at least a day before filing nominations.

To facilitate the monitoring of election expenditure by candidates,the office of the chief electoral officer has issued a public notice that requires candidates contesting elections to open a separate bank account exclusively for the purpose of poll expenditure.

This account shall be opened at least one day before the date on which the candidate files the nomination papers. The account number of this bank account shall be communicated by the candidate in writing to the returning officer at the time of filing nomination papers, the public notice stated.

According to directions in the notice,all election expenditure will have to be made by the candidate only from this bank account. All money to be spent on electioneering will have to be deposited in this bank account,irrespective of its source of funding,including the candidates own fund, an official from the Delhi Election Commission said.

The bank account can be opened either in the name of the candidate or jointly with an election agent. The bank account cannot be opened jointly with any family member of the candidate or any other person,if he/she is not the election agent of the candidate, an official said.

The account can be opened anywhere in the state and in any of the banks,including the cooperative banks,or in the post offices. The existing bank account of the candidate cannot be used for this purpose, the official said.

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