CEC: Exit Poll Results On Election Day Can Be Published In Social Media

Exit poll results on election day can be published in the social media, but not in the media, ruled Bulgaria's Central Electoral Committee (CEC).

The media, including media websites, will be fined if they do so, warned CEC in response to a letter of media chiefs from Tuesday, asking for clarification on the matter.

By law, the publishing of exit poll results on election day, while the polling stations are open, is forbidden. Some news websites, however, circumvent the ban by publishing results, thinly disguised as rankings of songs, films, book titles, theatre plays, weather forecasts, etc.

According to CEC, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as personal blogs and websites are not "providers of media services", hence the ban is not valid for them. "Media service is the creation and publication of information and content, aimed at a wide audience and with clear impact on it, independent of means and technology of distribution," ruled CEC.