As Afghanistan’s parliamentary campaign picks up steam, it is having a negative effect on the appearance of Herat, listed by UNESCO as one of the world’s cleanest cities. Campaign posters and photographs of candidates are pasted everywhere, disrupting Herat’s usually elegant façade.

The campaign began on June 2, and will end two days before the September 18 poll. There are 151 candidates in the race for Herat’s 17 parliamentary seats, which means a lot of campaign literature scattered around.

The municipal authorities have designated specific locations for candidates to display campaign materials, but most teams have disregarded the rules and pasted their slogans and erected billboards all over town.

“We have to introduce our candidate by displaying his photos and posters in the city and the districts,” said Mohammad Karim, who heads an election team for one of the parliamentary candidates. “It is effective because people, particularly those in the districts, do not really know the candidates. But they may remember the face of the one they want to vote for.”

Given Afghanistan’s low level of literacy, photos and other visual materials are considered by many the best way to reach voters.

But there are some campaigners who insist that posters alone cannot do the job. Rather, a candidate should try and explain his or her platform to the voters.

“Instead of pasting posters and installing billboards everywhere, candidates should introduce their programs to the people, so they will know for whom they wish to vote,” said Ahmad Behzad, a Member of Parliament who is running for re-election. “Photos alone will not attract many voters.”

Many of the voters do not seem all that excited by the campaigns. Some say that they have become disillusioned after years of broke promises.

”People now have experience in election campaigns,” said Mohammad Rafi Nawabi, a shopkeeper in Herat city. “Posters and photos have lost their effectiveness, particularly in the city.”

Some analysts express optimism over voters’ political awareness, and say that the people will vote more knowledgeably in this election. Afghans have now gone to the polls three times – twice for president and provincial council, and once before for Parliament.

 “People have undoubtedly gained a lot of experience after going through last year’s presidential and provincial council elections,” said Massoud Ansari, a political analyst in Kabul. “So the candidates who run heir campaigns just by pasting photos should not expect to win. People will vote for the platforms and programs, not for pretty posters.”

Mehar Angiz, a teacher in a girls’ high schools in Herat city agrees.

“People may have voted based on candidates’ slogans in the last elections but their representatives in the parliament did nothing for them,” she said. “Candidates cannot trick people with empty promises this time.”