“Preferably, a candidate should look every now and then at natural leaders during popular conferences. Often, those leaders will make a gesture of approval or imply it with a movement of the eyes or head…a candidate should preferably lower his eyes when praised by the people of his/her constituency.” That was some of the advice given by the National Democratic Party (NDP) to its candidates for the Shura Council election scheduled for June.
The NDP’s Book on Managing Election Campaigns for the 2010 Elections–posted on the party’s official website–also included advice on how candidates can plan for elections and how they can form teams and draw up political and social maps of their constituencies. It also gives candidates advice on how best to communicate with the electorate and run an election campaign.
The 30-page book also advises candidates for the Shura Council’s mid-term elections to determine their strongest competitors and their activities. A candidate is advised to choose his assisting team from among the people of his or her constituency. So if the constituency is an industrial area, then the main assistant, the book suggests, should be a worker, and if the constituency is a popular area then the candidate should mainly address owners of popular cafes and his speeches should be written for maximum impact on the audience.
When candidates feel their audiences have reached the highest level of concentration, they should at this point present alternatives and solutions to problems, the book suggests.
Finally, the book stresses that MPs should be fully aware of the achievements of the government within the constituency they intend to represent.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
