Pakistan Elections 2018: Significance of Social Media, Minorities
By RiazHaq
CA
Pakistan's 46 million young voters of ages 18-36 years, up from 41 million in 2013, will likely have the biggest impact on the outcome of the elections this year. Among other notable changes in the electorate is the number of non-Muslim voters that has jumped 30%, significantly faster than the 23% growth in overall voter registration in Pakistan since the last elections in 2013, according to data from the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Pakistan's young demographics and soaring use ofsocial media platformswill almost certainly have a major impact on how political party candidates reach out to voters in the general elections scheduled for July 25, 2018. The use of Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media apps may even make the Pakistani election campaigns and outcomes vulnerable to manipulation by both domestic and foreign players. It is a fact that was recently acknowledged by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in his testimony to the United States Congress earlier this year. Pakistani authorities will have to be on high alert to stop any attempts to manipulate the voters.
Young Electorate
There are 17.44 million voters between 18 and 25 years and 28.99 million between 26 and 35 years. These 46 million young voters, up from 41 million in 2013, will likely have the biggest impact on the outcome of the elections this year.
Pakistan's online population of over 55 million is predominantly from 18- to 35-year age group. Social media platforms will play a very important role in reaching this demographic group and bringing them out to vote.
Social Media Campaigns
Major political parties, particularly Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are keenly aware of the importance of the social media in the upcoming elections. Both parties have very active social media teams on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other platforms.
Foreign actors may also try to influence Pakistani elections in the same way that the Russians are alleged to have influenced recent elections in the West.
Social media news feeds are driven by users' profiles to reinforce their preferences and prejudices. Newsfeeds are customized for each user. Any posts that don't fit these profiles don't get displayed. The result is increasing tribalism in the world. American and British intelligence agencies claim that Russian intelligence has used the social media to promote divisions and manipulate public opinion in the West. Like the US and the UK, Pakistan also has ethnic, sectarian and regional fault-lines that make it vulnerable to social media manipulation. It is very likely that intelligence agencies of countries hostile to Pakistan will exploit these divisions for their own ends. Various pronouncements by India's current and former intelligence and security officials reinforce this apprehension.
Electoral Map
There are nearly 106 million registered voters eligible to vote in thegeneral elections. This figure includes 59 million male and 47 million female voters.
Punjab tops the list with the largest number of registered voters aggregating 60.67 million, a 23% increase from 2013. It is followed by Sindh with 22.39 million registered voters, an 18% increase over 2013.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the third largest province with 15.32 million registered voters, 25pc more than 2013. Balochistan has just 4.3 million registered voters but it's an increase of 29% over 2013. Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have 2.51m voters.
Among other notable changes in the electorate is the number of non-Muslim voters that has jumped 30%, significantly faster than the 23% growth in overall voter registration in Pakistan since the last elections in 2013, according to data from the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Hindus make up the bulk of the non-Muslim population in Pakistan. Their numbers increased from 1.6% to 1.73% or 3.593 million individuals, according to the 2017 Pakistan Population Census.
The population of Dalits (Kohli, Bheel and Meghwar communities in Sindh) has also increased from 0.25% to 0.41% of the total national population. Together, the Hindu and Dalit population adds up to 2.14% of the total population.
Krishna KumariKohli recently made history by becoming the first-ever Hindu Dalit woman Senator in the upper house of Pakistan, according to media reports. Her election represents a major milestone for women and minority rights in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Hindu population of the areas that now constitute Pakistan was 15% in the 1931 India Census. It declined to 14% in the 1941 India Census. The first Pakistan Census in 1951 showed it was 1.3% after the massive cross-border migration of both Hindus and Muslims in 1947. During the partition, 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India from what became Pakistan, while 6.5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. Since 1951, the Hindu population of what is now Pakistan has grown from 1.3% to 2.14% today.
Summary: Pakistan's young electorate and soaring use of social media platforms will shape the election campaigns of major political parties in this year's elections scheduled for July 25, 2018. The use of Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media apps may even make the Pakistani election outcomes vulnerable to manipulation by domestic and foreign players. This is a fact that was recently acknowledged by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in his testimony to the United States Congress earlier this year. Pakistani authorities will have to be on high alert to stop any attempts to manipulate the voters.
(RiazHaq is a Silicon Valley based Pakistani-American analyst and writer. He blogs at www.riazhaq.com)
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