Young voters, especially women, will be key factor in deciding fate of political parties in 2024 elections, says Hilali
- The number of Internet users increased to 87.35 million in January 2023.
- Last year, the number of social media users increased by more than 71%.
- The success of parties will largely depend on political behavior: Hilali.
With the growing number of Internet users in Pakistan, experts believe that social media will decide the fate of political parties in the next general elections, scheduled for February 8.
In democratic environments, free and transparent elections provide a solid foundation for democracy and ensure that the government elected through polls is of the people, by the people and for the people.
Showing the signs of a healthy democracy in a country, a free, fair and transparent election provides legitimacy to an elected government to take decisions in the national interest and well-being of the people for the next five years.
“Elections put authority in the hands of the public and give them the freedom to elect the government of their choice, which will work for their growth and development besides solving the country's problems,” said Professor Dr AH Hilali, former President of Politics. Department of Science, University of Peshawar.
In the 2013 and 2018 general elections, he said, social media played an impactful role in deciding the fate of political parties.
“PTI's strategies on social media and social mobilizers compared to other political parties helped in establishing a government for a second consecutive term in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.
According to a report by Digital Pakistan 2023, the number of internet users in Pakistan increased to a record 87.35 million in January last year, showing an increase of 4.4 million between 2022 and 2023.
The number of social media users also increased to a record 71.70 million in 2023, including 37.30 million Facebook users, 71.70 million YouTube users, 12.95 million Instagram users, and 16.51 million from TikTok.
Similarly, around 11.95 million people use Facebook Messenger, 9.30 million Linkedin, 25.70 million Snapchat and 4.65 million X (formerly Twitter) users following an increase in mobile connections to 191.8 million in January 2023 in Pakistan.
Hilali said the process of filing and scrutiny of nomination papers for the 2024 general elections was completed and the role of social media would be crucial in the 2024 elections.
He said all political parties including PML-N, PPP, PTI, ANP, JUI-F, MQM-P, IPP and PTIP have shown their presence on all major social media platforms for political gains.
He said all political parties and leaders have opened official blue-marked Facebook pages and Facebook groups to communicate with party members as well as their fans and voters.
Apart from other social media platforms, he said all political leaders including PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, MQM-P coordinator Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, head of PTI MPs Pervez Khattak and IPP patron-in-chief Jahangir. Tareen, opened the official X handles with blue marks for authentication, along with the official Instagram pages of the young political leaders.
Hilali also said that the success of political parties in the 2024 general elections would largely depend on political behavior and psychological-economic factors, past service records and manifestos of political parties, rather than the launch of personal attacks, blame games and defamation of politicians. leadership and dragging state institutions into politics in public meetings or issuing statements on social media platforms.
“For me, manifestos of political parties are important, and every person can view the programs of these parties by visiting their websites and social media pages with a single click on their mobile device,” said Ehtisham Qaiser, professor of Urdu literature. .
During the upcoming elections, around 127 million registered voters will exercise their right to vote in the 2024 general elections, of which around 72.31 million (56.9%) were registered in Punjab, 26.65 million in Sindh (21%), 21.69 million voters (17.1%) in KP and 5.28 million (4.2%) in Balochistan, according to statistics released by the ECP.
There were around 57.1 million young voters aged between 18 and 35, representing 45% of those eligible to vote.
The number of voters aged 36 to 45 amounts to 27.79 million, or 21.88%, and the two age groups, taken together, comprise 84.81 million voters, or two-thirds of the total of 127 million voters in Pakistan.
Hilali said young voters, especially women who make up almost 50% of the population, would be a key factor in deciding the fate of political parties in the February 8 elections.
Experts said that in the wake of cold weather and security challenges, the importance of social media increased further in the 2024 elections, and all political parties have already started projecting their programs through different networking websites. social networks for rapid dissemination of information in addition to capturing maximum seats in national and provincial assemblies.
