Estimating the election economy

How much political parties spend on campaigning during elections cannot be estimated with a fair degree of certainty, but it is possible to triangulate approximately how much spending is generated in the run-up to general elections. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has mandated a spending ceiling of Rs10 million for candidates campaigning for the National Assembly seats, and Rs4m for candidates campaigning for the Provincial Assembly seats. Considering how Pakistan is largely a cash-oriented economy, with currency in circulation of more than Rs8.6 trillion sloshing around, it is difficult to determine whether any candidate breached the limit or not in the absence of any audit trail. Elections are held for 266 National Assembly seats and for 740 Provincial Assembly seats.