ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: Expansion in the cellular mobile telephone technology in the country has also a trickle down effect on the local government elections in the Rawalpindi district with candidates offering mobile phone sets to the voters.
Background interviews conducted by Dawn revealed that candidates were distributing mobile phones during their door-to-door election campaign in a bid to win favour from voters in Union Council-81, Kotha Kalan.
To counter the move, their opponents associated with land business have started asking the people to vote for them and get Rs25,000 per house.
Kotha Kalan has a total of 11,166 registered voters — 6,056 males and 5,110 females. As many as eleven polling stations have been set up for the election to be held on August 25.
“According to an estimate, Rs80 million have so far been spent by the candidates in the union council,” a candidate said on condition of anonymity.
“This is just an exhibition of money in the lowest tier elections,” commented former district nazim Raja Tariq Kiani while talking to this correspondent.
This is all in violation of the limit fixed by the Election Commission, he said.
He said the limit barred candidates contesting for the posts of district nazims from exceeding their expenses beyond Rs500,000 while Rs300,000 has been set for tehsil/town nazims.
Amjad Yasin, one of the supporters of a candidate, while pointing towards huge hoarding, said a normal screen printed board cost Rs15,000 to Rs20,000. Such boards were visible in almost all major crossings and intersections of the area.
Similarly, the cost of printing stickers, banners, pamphlets, manifesto, installation of election symbols in vehicles and election office ran into thousands of rupees in addition to night and day feast arranged to win support.
Some of the candidates have even started advertising on local cable televisions, which approximately cost Rs5,000 per minute and has to be shown repeatedly till the polling day, he said.
“It is not possible for a common man to contest elections even for a seat of councillor,” he observed.