JALALABAD – Naqibullah, a 30-year-old taxi driver in Jalalabad, has nothing against campaign posters. Except when they interfere with his profession – driving a car.

“Candidates are pasting their campaign pictures over traffic signs on the Jalalabad-Torkham road,” he complained. “They also put them on my taxi without permission.”

Afghanistan is facing parliamentary elections on September 18. Now that the campaign season is in full swing, both candidates and potential voters are feeling the effects. Every parliamentary hopeful wants to see his or her own photo around as much as possible – something that residents of cities and villages find a bit less than appealing.

“I just painted my house,” grumbled Bashir Ahmad, who lives in Jalalabad. “The candidates have ruined it by pasting their photos all over my walls. The police should do something about this.”

According to Dr. Ahmad Wali Ahmadzai, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) sub-office in Jalalabad, such actions are illegal.

“Article 9 of the Election Law stipulates that no candidate is allowed to place his or her campaign materials on public or private property without permission,” he said.

“The municipalities also reserve the right to remove campaign materials if they provoke religious or linguistic tension,” he added.

The local government said that it had designated specific locations for candidates to place their posters. But this has not satisfied many campaigners, including parliamentary campaigner Sayeed Ghafor Ghafori.

“We are not aware of any specific locations approved by the government,” he said.

Another candidate, Dr. Ramzia Mohammadi, complained that unknown persons have been tearing down campaign posters in the city over the past week.

“I have no idea who is doing this or why,” she said.

Noorzia, who is also running for parliament, called on the police to control the situation.

“Supporters of one candidate are tearing down posters for their rivals,” she complained. “This is illegal and the security officials should do something.”

Abdul Ghafor, spokesperson for the provincial police headquarters, said that his people were doing their best.

“The police are responsible for preventing such actions and if the perpetrators are identified they should be punished,” he said.

Abdul Basir, who runs the construction industry for Nangarhar, said there is no need for illegal or inappropriate campaign posters.

“Four companies have installed billboards around Jalalabad, and they pay fees to the municipality,” he said. “If candidates want to put their posters on these billboards, all they have to do is contact one of those companies.”

Nangarhar, in eastern Afghanistan, shares a long border with Pakistan. Security in the area has been stable over the past several years; however, several incidents have been reported in recent weeks. Nevertheless, election officials say that the campaign is running normally.