BY SIDI MOHAMED
DOHA: A sitting member of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) who is contesting the upcoming election says seeking dual permission from the government for canvassing poses difficulties to candidates.
Mubarak Fraish (pictured), who is in the fray from Al Gharrafa in the May 13 CMC election, said he had to first get permission from the interior ministry’s “media committee” to begin his election campaign.
The media committee is part of the CMC election supervisory committee at the Ministry of Interior.
“And then I had to seek official approval of the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning to put up posters and banners in public places where it is permissible to do so,” Fraish said.
Fraish told The Peninsula yesterday that he hoped to start canvassing next week.
According to him, seeking the civic ministry’s permission is not so easy since a candidate must tell them not only the size of a poster or banner but also what he would write on it and where he would display it.
Main roads and areas near polling booths, as well as electricity and telephone poles, are out of bounds for election campaign material, he said.
“You can’t put up campaign posters and banners on main roads because, according to the authorities, they could disturb traffic flow,” Fraish said.
Asked if it would be difficult to convince voters to turn out in large numbers to exercise their franchise since the CMC was a powerless body, he said that was not true because CMC members had been able to get development projects approved for their constituencies.
Asked how he planned to approach women voters in his ward since they comprised at least 50 percent of his constituents, he said he had a team of women volunteers who would contact female voters.
“They are all Qatari women and they are all volunteers and won’t be charging money” said Fraish.
He said he was distributing CDs with his photographs and profile as part of his election campaign.
Talking of his poll manifesto, he said he will mostly be talking of the development work that has been done in the constituency and what remains to be done.
Community sources, meanwhile, told this newspaper that issues in the ensuing CMC poll will vary from one ward to another.
In northern areas like Al Khor and Al Shamal the question of single foreign workers being numerically preponderant and posing a threat to families is an issue.
THE PENINSULA
