PESHAWAR: In democratic countries, free and transparent polls provide a strong base for democracy and ensure that the government chosen via elections is of the people, by the people, and for the people.
A free, fair, and transparent polls provide legitimacy to an elected government to take decisions in the country’s interest and the welfare of people for the next five years.
Professor Dr. A.H. Hilali, former Chairman, Political Science Department, University of Peshawar told APP that election gives the authority in the hands of the public and provides them the freedom to choose the government of their choice, which to work for their growth and development besides resolution of the nation’s problems. He added that in the 2013 and 2018 elections, social media played an impactful role in deciding the fate of candidates and political parties.
Digital Pakistan 2023
Digital Pakistan 2023 reported that the number of internet users in Pakistan swelled to a record 87.35 million in January, showing a 4.4 million increase from 2022 to 2023. The number of social media users also enlarged to a record 71.70 million in 2023, including 37.30 million users of Facebook, 71.70 million users of YouTube, 12.95 million on Instagram, and 16.51 million on TikTok.
9.30 million Linkedin, 25.70 million snapchat, and 4.65 million users of X (Twitter) in the wake of an increase in mobile connections to 191.8 million in January 2023 in Pakistan.
Professor Hilali said the process of filing and scrutinizing nomination papers for the 2024 general elections was completed, and social media’s role would be crucial in the 2024 election. He said all political parties, including PML-N, PPP, PTI, ANP, JUIF, MQM, IPP, and PTIP, have shown their presence on every major social media platform for political gains.
Political Parties and Social Media
He said all political parties and leaders have opened official pages with blue-ticks on Facebook and Facebook groups for communication with party members as well as with their fans and voters. Besides other social media platforms, he said all political leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhuto, Khalid Maqbool Saddiqui, Pervez Khattak, and Jahangir Tareen, opened official X (former Twitter) handles with blue ticks for authentication, along with official pages on Instagram by the young political leaders.
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“For me, manifestos of political parties are important, and every person can see the programs of these parties by visiting their social media websites and pages with a single mobile click,” said Ehtisham Qaiser, a lecturer of Urdu literature.
Dr. Hilali said the success of political parties in the 2024 general election would largely depend on the political behavior and psychological-economic factors, past service records and manifestos of political parties, rather than the launching of personal attacks, blame games, characters assassination of political leadership, and dragging state institutions into politics in public meetings or issuing statements on social media platforms.
The ECP stated that about 127 million registered voters would use their right of franchise in the 2024 general elections in Pakistan. There were around 57.1 million youth voters aged between 18 and 35, making up 45 percent of those who were eligible to vote. The number of voters aged 36 to 45 comes to 27.79 million, i.e., 21.88 percent, and the two age groups, if seen together, comprise 84.81 million voters, or two-thirds of the total 127 million voters in Pakistan.
The experts were of the view that in the wake of chilly weather and security challenges, the significance of social media was further increased in the 2024 general elections in Pakistan, and all the political parties have already started projecting their programs via different social media websites for quick dissemination of information besides grabbing maximum seats in parliament.
