The election campaign is over and, tomorrow, we are being invited to exercise our right to vote to elect the new government.

The Friday before the election has been traditionally known as the silent day, one in which it is prohibited at law to in any way try to influence voters.

That legislation was enacted at a time when society was very different from what it is today. At that time, there was no social media, there were no billboards, and the traditional media consisted of daily newspapers and, later, a publicly-owned TV and radio station. It was easy to monitor what these were doing. Today, we have many more of them.

Each time we have an election, we wonder why that part of the electoral law is still in place, when we know that it is almost impossible for this so-called “silence” to be maintained.

For example, while printed newspapers today cannot carry reports about the activities that were held yesterday by political parties to close off the campaign, the online versions are carrying these same reports.

They are dated Thursday, and were uploaded Thursday, but their availability today makes it possible to anyone who wants to see the parties’ final message.

On the social media, candidates are still present with their posts and adverts, telling constituents to vote for them or their party. All parties and candidates, on their respective pages, are still carrying material which is blatantly promoting what they are offering or will be doing should they be elected.

The many social media pages, blogs and websites that today cover local news are also still available with their comments and reports.

The many billboards along our streets are still there and this is also a form of propaganda that, technically speaking, goes against the spirit of the “silent” day. And yet, again, newspapers cannot carry this same propaganda material.

And, while publicly the candidates cannot make any pronouncements or encourage voters to give them the number one preference, we know that they will privately continue to work to promote themselves.

The political parties themselves will be doing their best to reach out one last time, without making it obvious, to the voters, especially those who they think might be considering not turning up at the polls. Telephone calls will still be made, checking whether voters need any assistance for them to go to the polling booth.

Candidates will still be knocking on doors, certainly not to deliver milk or bread, or turn up in the village square to have a coffee and at least be seen. The conversation will not be about football or the weather.

This kind of situation will spill over onto Saturday, the day of the election, when, like Friday, no form of open publicity is allowed until the polls close at 10pm.

Once again, we therefore raise the question as to whether it is still the time for the law to speak of maintaining “silence” on the eve of the election.