More than half of Pakistani youth will be able to cast their vote for the very first time next month. Importantly, a healthy 62 percent of the 25 million youth, termed as Next Generation by the British Council, intends to come out and vote.
This is despite the overriding pessimism that the youth has about the countrys future, as was revealed in the British Councils recently released report titled Next Generation Goes to the Ballot Box.
To put things in perspective, the Next Generation is nearly one-third of Pakistans electoral list. This translates into 15.5 million youth willing to vote, of which 8.5 million are going to vote for the very first time.
Little wonder then that the mainstream political parties seem to have taken the youth bulge into account. As evident by their election manifestos, almost all major political parties have designated a special section for youth.
The PTI, however, has taken the lead having announced a separate Youth Policy, focusing on youth employment and education. Employment is the factor that the Next Generation singled out as their biggest problem.
The PTI is banking mostly on new voters, of which a large majority is that of youth. The party has stayed true to its words, offering 35 percent of the party tickets to the youth up to 35 years of age. The step is surely going to be popular amongst the Next Generation, whether or not it translates into votes, remains to be seen.
Another area warranting attention is the Next Generations political orientation which is more titled towards conservatives than liberals. Nearly 70 percent Next Generation voters have conservative tendencies, from which the two right leaning parties, the PML (N) and PTI are likely to benefit.
Although, the Next Generation has a strong approval rating - 74 percent - for religious centres, the rating for political parties is abysmally low at 11 percent. The PTI has made the creation of an Islamic Welfare State, cornerstone of its agenda, which goes well with youths preferences.
Unsurprisingly, females of the Next Generation are on the more conservative side at 75 percent as opposed to 64 percent in males. Although, female voters have a lower intention to vote, the overwhelming conservative tendency offers a chance for parties popular amongst women.
The Next Generation report opines that "any party that can bring more housewives to vote is certain to prosper at the polls". Knowing that PTIs Imran Khan enjoys unparalleled popularity amongst female youth, the party may stand to benefit on this note.
If the report is any guide, the turnout on May 11 is sure to increase substantially, largely owing to what is called the Next Generation. The political parties should feel lucky that the youth, despite having absolutely no confidence in them, still intends to vote. Its for the political parties to pay back the youth before the confidence slips further and pessimism takes over.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.