The ugly practice of early campaigning had started subtly with tarpaulin signs bearing the faces of politicians. To the voters, these are clear signs of manifesting the intent of these politicians to be in the public consciousness until election time. These signages are displayed in government projects that are funded with taxpayers’ money. People see the faces and names of politicians with the claim that such project was made through the efforts of the politician which are larger than the details of the project. The signages greet the public daily until the such is destroyed by wear and tear.
Aside from such project signages, there are a lot of tarpaulins all over the communities where celebrations are held such as fiestas and graduations. The aim is the same, to catch public attention on the clear intent of these politicians. The faces of these politicians are similarly larger than the greetings and are displayed long before the fiesta or graduation. Such signages will remain displayed until the same are destroyed by wear and tear which usually last too long after the fiesta or graduation.
The practice is widespread and are well funded as these politicians would have their faces displayed way beyond their political territories. Such signages are clear announcement of the politicians’ intention to run for another elective office apart from the locality where the politician serves. The strategy had somehow been effective as the same is not deemed a violation under existing laws. The election commission treats it not as early campaign for the politician is not deemed a candidate for any elective office until one files the required certificate of candidacy.
In a way, this practice mayhap be deemed as getting at par with incumbent politicians who are exposed on mainstream media and are always in the news. Current issues that are the subject of investigations in aid of legislation are bringing these politicians into the public consciousness. They become the subject of public discussion as the public indulge in debates with their on takes on the issues. Public discussions are not just limited to small group discussions among peers in the community. It goes beyond the usual drinking sessions among friends due to the advance technology where almost everyone has access online.
It is this reality that pushed politicians to employ their own team of social media operators to engage in public discussions as well. The social media influencers are into a lucrative job as they get paid by those politicians who aim to get an edge in the public consciousness. The media influencers operate under the guise of spreading information, albeit untrue in most cases or even intentionally fake. There too are posts on social media bearing the faces of politicians in greetings.
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