On the campaign trail: candidates break all rules

Plastering posters on private property, wallchalking continue despite ban.

ISLAMABAD:

There are still two weeks to go before their fates are sealed but candidates running for the National Assembly from the federal capital’s two constituencies have already started breaking rules. Election campaigns being run by political parties are in violation of the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The civic agency’s Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) is working with the district returning officers to curb the violations, but they are struggling to keep up with overzealous political workers, who have put up an overwhelming array of banners, streamers, posters and stickers that dominate the cityscape.

In its latest efforts, the DMA has banned candidates from putting up banners, which are otherwise allowed by the ECP to preserve the capital’s “aesthetic beauty.”

According to the ECP’s code of conduct, candidates and their supporters are not allowed to affix party flags on public property without permission and they must refrain from using loudspeakers and wall chalking. The banners and posters must not exceed the sizes notified by the ECP and private property is not to be used without permission for political activities including displaying banners and posters.

But street signs, shop fronts and boundary walls have been plastered with posters and flyers. Tahir Farooq, a resident of F-6/1, was upset with the overt displays of electioneering. “I got into a fight with a political worker the other day,” Farooq said. “I don’t want the walls of my house to be covered with posters, especially of candidates I don’t support.”

Political workers, however, seem to be working after hours to get the message out. “They usually put up the flyers when the shops are closed,” said Muhammad Faisal, a shopkeeper in G-9 Markaz, who had tried but failed to remove two posters from outside his garments shop. “Obviously, it creates a nuisance.”

Capital Development Authority (CDA) spokesperson Malik Saleem said the civic agency’s Member Administration Munir Chaudhry met with candidates’ representatives a day earlier to discuss compliance with the ECP code.

While Saleem said the representatives agreed to cooperate, a senior DMA official, who was privy to the meeting’s details, said the representatives’ response was not encouraging. “They said emotions are running high at this time and they cannot control their workers,” said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media. CDA has set up a campaign complaint cell to provide guidelines such as-- candidates can advertise at a specific location for 15 days.

The enforcement has been only partially effective. DMA has removed around 5,000 banners and oversized hoardings from the streets. “We cannot direct all our staff towards monitoring election campaigns and ignore other municipal by-law violations,” the DMA official said. “But we are trying our best.” With the ban on banners, the candidates are allowed to put up streamers, but they have to get permission from DMA first.

According to statistics provided by the CDA, the DMA has so far given permission for 12,600 streamers to 14 candidates from two constituencies. Candidates have to pay Rs60 per streamer, a DMA employee said. CDA has collected Rs756,000 for the streamers, but DMA officials said party workers were putting up excess streamers.

Political parties have also set up campaign offices on green belts, parking areas and footpaths, without CDA’s permission. “Candidates’ representatives were informed of the violations and they said they would support the CDA in beautifying the capital,” Saleem said. Candidates could not be contacted for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2013.