Media is third largest trusted institution whereas political parties’ approval rating as per respondents is 50%         Pakistan's army soldiers march during a military parade to mark Pakistan's National Day in Islamabad. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: 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 ‘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 of 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.

The respondents were asked whether they will 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 have switched their preferred party, 78 percent claimed they will vote for the same party whereas 22 percent are intending to switch the preferred party.

What is the key quality that an ideal candidate must possess to secure 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.

Furthermore, the survey shows when voting, the political party matters more than the individual candidate as 1 in 5 will vote for candidate irrespective of the party. Similarly, half of the Pakistani youth’s decision to vote is influenced by their families, more in case of females and underprivileged.

The participants of the survey were asked whether they think any organisation can rig the general elections to which 2 in 3 young Pakistanis responded that they believe in the fairness of upcoming 2024 elections.

The participants of the survey were asked whether they believe that any foreign or international influences can positively or negatively affect the performance of 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 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 really matter, a significant 2 in 5 think it doesn’t. Males and 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 the 70 percent 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, military’s interference in politics is of least importance.