Staff Reporter
SHILLONG:
Avner Medon Pariat, MLA candidate from East Shillong who is fighting the 2023 Assembly elections from New Dawn Meghalaya (NDM) has decided to release a statement of receipt and expenditure.
“Most of our funding comes from small donors not big businessmen and we are thankful for this because it means we are not controlled by vested interests,” Pariat said in a statement on November 20.
He said that with continuing support from the public he aims to show that elections can and should always be fought with fairness and transparency.
“We hope everyone who sees and reads this press release will be encouraged to join us,” he added.
Pariat said that the total amount pledged was Rs 2 lakhs and amount received so far is Rs 1,46,102.
He informed that the total expenditure so far is Rs 1,45,200 out of which Rs 1,03,200 was spent on printing, Rs 12,000 was spent on information dissemination, Rs 28,000 on volunteer honorarium and Rs 2000 on one-time payment for training assistance.
The NDM candidate said that this is a challenge to the “dominant money power narrative” pushed forward by the large political parties like the National People’s Party, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party.
“We feel this must be the future of electoral politics. Publicly-funded elections will ensure that our political parties work for the benefit of the ‘paidbah’ (public) and not the ‘hehspah’ (vested interests). Let us get vested interests out of our political system!” Pariat said.
