2024 Ipsos Survey Pakistan Youth Trust Army Most Prioritize Economy in Upcoming Elections
In a recent Ipsos survey conducted across the country, the Pakistan Army has emerged as the most trusted institution with 74 percent approval ratings, whereas, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is the least trusted among eight institutions.
Ipsos Pakistan carried out a ‘Political Participation Landscape of Pakistani Youth’ survey for Voice of America (VOA) in January 2024. The sample size of the survey was 2,050 respondents. The target respondents were people aged 18-34 from across the country.
As per the survey, the second most trusted institution in the country, according to the respondents, is the Supreme Court of Pakistan with an approval rating of 58 percent. Media is the third largest trusted institution whereas political parties’ approval rating as per the respondents is 50 percent.
Similarly, 3 in 4 respondents believe elections will steer the country in the right direction and 2 in 3 expect the elections will be free and fair. Moreover, 88 percent believe that their vote is important.
The survey shows that the youth of Pakistan hardly stay informed or active in politics. Only 54 percent of youth replied that they stay informed about the politics, candidates, and their manifestos in their constituency. Whereas only 29 percent say they support certain politicians and political parties and intend to participate in their rallies and processions.
Upcoming General Elections on February 8
The respondents were asked whether they would cast their votes in the upcoming general elections on February 8. Some 70 percent claimed they will vote in the general elections. The survey further reveals that from 2018 to 2024, 1 in 5 has switched their preferred party, 78 percent claimed they will vote for the same party whereas 22 percent intend to switch the preferred party.
What is the key quality that an ideal candidate must possess to secure a youth’s vote? To this question, 56 percent responded that they see honesty, integrity, and high ethical standards of the candidate while casting their vote.
The Ipsos survey further reveals that 3 in 5 youngsters in Pakistan think political leaders do not understand their issues or priorities. This sentiment is higher in females, rural as well as in Islamabad.
Political Party Matters More than the Individual Candidate
Furthermore, the survey shows when voting, the political party matters more than the individual candidate as 1 in 5 will vote for a candidate irrespective of the party. Similarly, half of the Pakistani youth’s decision to vote is influenced by their families, more in the case of females and the underprivileged.
The participants of the survey were asked whether they think any organization can rig the general elections to which 2 in 3 young Pakistanis responded that they believe in the fairness of the upcoming 2024 elections.
The participants of the survey were asked whether they believed that any foreign or international influences could positively or negatively affect the performance of the Pakistani government. One in 3 participants believe that there is “international influence” on Pakistan.
For the Pakistani youth, TV, social media, and word of mouth are considered the most preferred sources. As per the survey, the female population prefers TV more than males, while males prefer social media for news.
Interestingly, among youth WhatsApp is the most used social media platform, followed by Facebook. Twitter is only 8 percent. Social media usage has significant gender disparity, the survey reveals. Similarly, there’s a division on whether the media covers the issues that matter, a significant 2 in 5 think it doesn’t. Males and the affluent are over-indexed in this sentiment.
According to the survey, economic issues surpass all other issues in salience, whereas education and health are the biggest priorities. Inflation, according to 70 percent of participants, is the main national issue followed by poverty 59 percent. The survey further shows that the highest importance is given to health & education in responses by the youth whereas, the military’s interference in politics is of the least importance.
