SWABI, Jan 6: The electoral candidates said on Sunday that with the postponement of the general election by the Election Commission the cost of their campaigns would rise steeply.

The candidates of various political parties, and also the independent ones, said they had made preparations for the Jan 8 elections, but now the polling has been put off until Feb 18. This means 40 additional days of campaiging.

They said that the government has provided an opportunity to the ‘king’s party’ and its supporters to re-emerge from the debris of their unpopularity amongst the masses.

They said that when the Pakistan People’s Party was ready to contest elections, there was no need to postpone the elections.

They said that the prepared posters had already been finished and now they had to give a fresh order for reprinting. “If we want to stay in the contest we have to go for reprinting,” said Zarshaid Khan, the Awami National Party from PF-31, Swabi-1. “There is no other option we are left with.”

They said the expenditures on transport to ply several vehicles for election campaign would also increase. “Without transport…it might be impossible to run the campaign. It would have to be run till Feb 18,” said Imran Khan Tarakai, media incharge of district nazim, Shahram Khan Tarakai.

Mr Imran’s two uncles, Usman Khan Tarakai and Javid Iqbal Tarakai, had been contesting the Feb 18 elections. Mr Usman is challenging the Awami National Party central president Asfandyar Wali Khan in NA-12, Swabi-1. While Mr Javid is an arch rival of the ANP’s Amir Rehman in PF-32, Swabi-11.

The contestants said that it was not an easy task to meet election camps expenditures and run them according to the requirements.

Rehmanullah, the district president of the ANP said that in elections, a large number of people and party workers are involved for the campaign and candidates have to bear all the expenses.

They said that a fresh campaign would be a totally different one, and added that the scenario before Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was different.