Lack of rules spark political social media splurge

Despite allegations of all odds being stacked against it, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is still alive and kicking on social media; and other political parties are now following suit.

However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) does not seem to have a method to monitor spending on social media, especially whilst campaigning for elections.

The PTI is regarded as the pioneer of social media politics in the country, and other mainstream political parties, like the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), after having realised the party’s success on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp, have now launched social media wings of their own.

And despite the fact that social media is now being used as an effective tool for promotion and advertising, the apex electoral body of the country does not seem to have a mechanism on how much political parties spend to promote themselves on social media.

As per the Spokesperson of the ECP, Nadeem Haider, candidates stepping into the electoral battlefield for National Assembly seats can spend up to Rs10 million on any advertising campaign, and those contesting on provincial assembly seats can spend up to Rs4 million.

However, hypothetically, candidates could have anyone from Pakistan or outside of the country, spend on advertisements on social media, without having to disclose what amount was being spent.

When asked to confirm this eventuality, Haider stated: “While there is a fixed expenditure limit for election campaigning, no separate category has been created for advertising expenditure on social media.”Be that as it may, Haider was quick to add that all election candidates are bound to submit complete details of expenses incurred during campaigning.Apart from Haider, the Spokesperson for the ECP in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Sohail Khan, also confirmed that presently there are no rules regarding social media spending or any mechanism to monitor how much was actually spent on social media by candidates or their supporters.

Nevertheless, Khan, like Haider, quickly added: “There is zero tolerance regarding hate speeches or anything against the state and its institution and if any candidate was found to be engaging in such behaviour on social media then their papers for the election would be rejected.

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”With the only apparent restriction being against hate speech, political parties and candidates, who already do not respect campaign financing laws, are free to spend whatever amount they wish to on social media advertising campaigns, as per Asad Baig, who heads a non-governmental organisation that works for media development and digital democracy. “While the ECP can monitor television or print advertising campaigns, it does not have any mechanism to monitor social media.”

“If a candidate uses external funding, for instance someone from outside the country conducting an election campaign for a political party or candidate in Pakistan, the ECP is basically toothless,” he elaborated.Baig further said that various digital media activists had been pressing the ECP for the past five years to make a plan for social media advertising, but no plan had been made yet. “It is the responsibility of the ECP to check the source of money for any and all social media campaigns,” he contended.

While it remains to be seen whether the ECP will frame rules for spending on social media advertising, political parties are having a field day. Uzma Zahid Bukhair, the Secretary Information for the PML-N in Punjab, conceded to The Express Tribune that due to the importance of social media in the country, her party was spending heavily on advertising on social media.

“The more money one spends on advertising on election campaigns on social media, the more views they get.

Therefore, the PML-N has formed teams all over the country to use social media effectively,” said Bukhari.The PPP seems to be following in the same footsteps. According to Sikandar Ali Hullio, the leader of the central social media team of the PPP, social media coordinators have been appointed in all provinces and social media cells have been established in different districts of the respective provinces, under the supervision of the provincial coordinators, in which thousands of people are working.

”X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms are being used in the social media campaign,” maintained Hullio.As for the pioneers, PTI, Ikram Khatana, the head of the social media wing of the party in K-P, informed The Express Tribune, that the party had survived against all odds due to social media. “Since there are no rules by the ECP on social media advertising, we are active on all social media platforms and are campaigning effectively,” remarked Khatana.