Social Democrats' election campaign posters in Paide repeatedly vandalized
The Social Democratic Party has approached the police following repeat instances of vandalism of its local election campaign posters in Paide, Järva Teataja reported.
Party spokesperson Ilmar Koppel put the material damage at a four-figure sum so far, saying: "It's very frustrating, as when you've put up a poster and invested your time, some spiteful person decides to ruin someone else's work."
While not the only instance of defacement of an electoral campaign poster ahead of this or other elections, the activity here has been repeated and focused on one party — Järva Teataja pictures show nearby Isamaa posters untouched — and has involved the apparent slashing of the paid-for placards.
Koppel said there have been five instances at the time of writing, starting off with minor damage, "but on September 29 the situation escalated — on Tallinn maantee, on the trailer-mounted posters, the candidates' names and numbers were cut out with a sharp object," he said, adding that after a lull of a week or two, a fresh attack occurred on October 9, this time in the town center, when two posters were virtually destroyed.
As to potential culprits, Koppel said "there are various speculations, but right now we're not pointing fingers at anyone," said Koppel, adding that SDE has filed an official complaint with the police.
Koppel said an investigation has also been launched, to determine the circumstances of the poster vandalism and identify the possible perpetrators.
Polling day for the local elections is this Sunday, October 19, and advance voting is already underway.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
