Illegal to publish exit polls before voting ends, officials say

The chief returning officer has announced that the conducting of exit polls outside the polling stations is not prohibited by the electoral legislation, provided that their result only announced  after the polls close.

The publication of any exit polls prior to this is a criminal offence and may result in a fine or in imprisonment.

“Any person who tries to influence directly or indirectly, or to compel voters to vote or to abstain from voting, or any person who tries by fraudulent means to prevent the free exercise of the right to vote, or misleads with different pretexts, commits the serious electoral offence of illegally influencing and influencing the voters,” the announcement said.