This is a good idea.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=auMNaXKoXvzk&refer=worldwide
Bhutto Considers Telephone Election Campaign After Bombings
Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) – Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said she’ll limit mass election rallies and campaign instead by telephone to avoid a repeat of last week’s suicide bombing in Karachi that killed at least 136 people.
The opposition leader said she is also considering recording taped messages to play to villagers instead of making personal appearances, because of the threat of terrorist attacks.
We do not want to endanger our leadership unnecessarily, and we certainly don't want to risk potential mass murder of my supporters,'' Bhutto wrote in the Wall Street Journal newspaper today. If we don’t campaign, the terrorists have won and democracy is set back further. If we do campaign, we risk violence. It is an extraordinary dilemma.‘’
Pakistan’s government is considering banning political rallies, after two bombers attacked a crowd in Karachi welcoming Bhutto back to the country after eight years in exile. Bhutto plans to lead her Pakistan Peoples Party in national elections scheduled to be held before Jan. 15.
Pakistan is a country of mass, grassroots, people-to-people politics,''' Bhutto wrote, adding voters expect to hear directly from their leaders through bullhorns and loud speakers.‘’
Bhutto, 54, said she is consulting with political strategists on ``hybrid techniques that combine individual and mass voter contact with sharp security constraints.‘’
The campaign strategy intends to ``minimize my vulnerability and minimize the opportunity for successful terrorist attacks,‘’ she wrote.
The government is considering a proposal by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-i-Azam party that processions be banned and political parties must seek approval from authorities before holding rallies, Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem said by telephone yesterday.
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, a Washington-based election monitoring group, said in a report two days ago that violence may increase as the ballot approaches and the government, political parties and Election Commission must ensure a ``safer electoral environment.‘’
