Project Document # 2

Digital Youth in Elections 2013

Gaps and Way Forward
Akseeb Jawed
May 22, 2013
Introduction
The future of any nation depends on its younger generation. Indeed, youth plays a vital role in
the progress of any nation. Youth have its own significant part to play in the art of politics.
Thereof, one cant deny their importance for a better functioning democracy. Ever since,
elections proved to be one of the crucial factors for the contingency of any democratic nation.
Given that 60% of Pakistans population comprised youth, so evidently they can set directions of
the future in the elections through their active participation. Youths active involvement
throughout electoral process can ensure increase in turnout and impartiality as well.
Methodology
Secondary Data has been used for this policy brief. Social interactive sites such as Facebook,
Twitter, My Space, etc; blogs; news articles, and other related secondary data sources have been
used.
Reaching out the Youth Vote through Social Interactive Media
Youngsters tend to be early adopters of new technologies, and so far Pakistani youth have been
blatantly active when it comes to politics. Digital media and other electronic communications are
very efficient and effective because it is where youth spends most of their time. Social interactive

sites such as Twitter and Facebook in particular provide campaigners real time to access millions
of potential young voters from nearly every area of Pakistan. The increasing importance of an
online presence to reach young voters is evident from election 2013 Therefore, connecting with
young voters on a platform they are already familiar with have increased their supporters.
Role of Pakistani Youth in Elections 2013
Participation of Pakistani youth in elections 2013 is commendable. Youth emerged as all-rounder
during the pre-election activities. On the other hand, media expedite their activities. Youth
campaigned at different levels to make people understand the importance of casting their vote.
They are the trump card of political parties used for convincing their respective families
particularly elderly to vote.
Moreover, local media channels have given due importance to the role of youth in the elections.
Youths role in elections remains the topic of discussion in various talk shows during the whole
process. They were even considered the deciding factor for the winning polls.
Digitally Active Youth in Elections 2013
Throughout the election process youth remained digitally active. It was clear from the clarion
call of Pakistani youth that they wanted a reliable and honest government. The Pakistani youth is
technologically very advanced. The sound technical knowledge has effectively linked the next
generation to each other. This connectivity proves to be very effective during the whole episode
of election 2013. The young supporters tried to spread and explain the respective mandates of
their political parties to the masses via internet and mobile phones for instance PTIs campaign
headquarters established by youth for not only making people aware of their right to vote but to
also propagate about their partys agenda.

Positive Campaigning by Youth in the 2013 Elections

Enthusiastic youth having extensive political wisdom along with a sound technological
knowhow proved to be a lethal combination in the election 2013. There was huge involvement of
technology in the campaigns strategized by Pakistani youth and social medium (Facebook,
Twitter, My Space, etc) hereof proved to be a very effectivesome of the highlights are as
follows

To campaign for gaining the trust of people youth came up with a united front for the
party the particular parties they supported for instance during the day of elections some of
young supporters of PTI were trying to win peoples confidence in favor of their party
who were standing in the long rows for casting their vote

Youth campaigned at different levels with the help internet and mobile phones to make
people realize the power of casting their vote. For instance the workers of PTI and PMLN were only trying to create awareness but they were also spreading the dictum of their
parties via SMS

Students at university level even tried to persuade other students within their institutions
to cast their votes like Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore
College for Women University (LCWU), Kinnaird College for Women Lahore, etc
organized seminars before elections with the aim of spreading awareness and increasing
the turnout as well

The vibrant youth was not only successful in convincing their fellow students but also
their families to cast their votes on the polling day. This was evident from the long queue
of people waiting for their turn to cast vote on the polling day

The politically active young voters of all the political parties went from urban to remote
areas to make people understand the importance of casting vote. In this regard the young
supporters of PTI and PML-N were at the forefront

There is rampant growth of technology in the urban areas of Pakistan therefore, youth
campaigns proved to be most effective in these areas such as Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi,
Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Faisalabad, etc. This was clear from the massive gathering in the
PTIs D-Chowk Grand Finale on 9th May, 2013

There is an increasing trend of older generation accessing social interactive sites on daily
basis. Youngsters took advantage of this by winning the favor of number of elderly for
their respective political parties

The young supporters of PML-N and PTI actively took part in a number of seminars and
events to shed light on the mandates of the particular parties they support for instance the
small gatherings, discussions, etc organized at different constituencies by the supporters
of political parties

The PTIs campaign headquarters even go to the extent of catering people having issues
related to vote registration, polling process, etc. via helpline numbers

Facebook and twitter can be regarded as the main camp of the young campaigners for
implementing their strategies for election 2013 such as PML-N and PTIs official
Facebook pages and twitter accounts were linked and successfully updating everyone
about the activities of their respective parties

Youth displayed party flags, slogans, ballot signs, image of favorite political leaders, etc
on the rear windows of their vehicles for promoting their party

The young lot of actors also showed their affiliation towards specific political parties by
appearing in the political mass gathering like appearance of Shehroz and Syra Yousaf in
the PTIs congregation held at Karachi before elections

The youngsters also prove their support for a particular political party by: wearing Tshirts displaying the ballot sign of the party, painting party flags on faces, by tying
bandanna of party flag on the head, etc.

All the above discussed activities are projected and disseminated through the eyes of Media
which in turn eventually increase the outreach of youth campaigns in terms reaching out a vast
majority of people.
Gaps
Indeed the 2013 elections witnessed enthusiastic and passionate participation of the young
generation but there are some obvious gaps in their campaigning techniques which are:

The youth didnt come up as a united front irrespective of their political affiliation. The
difference of opinion results in major disputes between the opposition parties like the
clash between MQM and PTIs young supports in Karachi before and after elections

Youth in the process of convincing people tend to be somewhat irritating and annoying
for the elderly for example people were having difference of opinion regarding their
political association which results in a rift between youngsters and elders

Youth as a whole didnt team up for persuading more people to vote other than backing
up their own party campaigns

The exuberant display of slogans and high volume music for political campaigns is
distressing for the peaceful communities of Urban and rural areas

The zigzagging of party flags from the car windows along with the rash driving on the
highway of Islamabad is upsetting and dangerous for people. Moreover, this chaos also
lead to traffic jam which hinders the daily routine of masses going out for work and other
activities

Zeal without prudence is just like a ship adrift and same is the case with youth of
Pakistan. They lack in discipline and direction. For instance a great lot of students wasted
their time, bunked their classes, abandoned their house chores, and upset their families
just to be part of this campaign buzzsimply by frantically dancing on the roads and
making loud noises for fun

There was no check on the social interactive sites which provides a sort of ultimate
freedom to the youngsters to post anything on the social media. This liberty negatively
encourages abusive languages and heated arguments between the young voters of
political parties such as PML-N and PTI WebPages are full of offensive material

There was no significant participation of youth as a volunteers in the programs by

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to make people familiar with the electoral
process

Youths role in the monitoring of election campaigning process is not very praiseworthy
as they were more focused on voicing out the political mandates of their parties

The high-tech campaigns required expensive equipment and technology. Youth was so
absorbed in enjoying election extravaganza that it never occurred to them that where is all
the for campaigning coming from

Way Forward
The young generation can be a valuable asset for any nation if properly stimulated politically.
However, the overall role of youth in the current elections is commendable. This could be finely
tuned by following the measures discussed below:

Youth should play its part as a guardian or watchdog over the campaigning of the
contending political parties

Youth in their respected constituencies should monitor the campaigning process. For
instance during the elections the young lot of Sustainable Development Policy Institute
(SDPI), not only cast their votes but also performed the duty of election observers

Youth should also keep a check on the resources that are being used for the process of
campaigning

Youth should report immediately to the concerned authorities (ECP in case of Pakistan) if
they found out that government resources are being used for the campaign

Youth should focus on persuading people to exercise their power of vote rather than
pressuring them to vote for their favorite candidate

Youth should also ensure that there is no harassment at the time of polling

Youth should try to visit rural areas for campaigning about the importance of casting vote

They should keep a check and balance on the activities of social interactive sites
regarding election campaigns. The social media should be used as a medium to spread
awareness rather than a platform of promoting abusive language and hatred

Students should provide guidance to the general public about the registration process and
make certain that their name and constituency is in the list

Efficient voters with smart phones can record irregularities at the polling stations and
them report it back to the concerned authorities

Even with all the advancement in technology and digitalization of youth, success is not
guaranteed as there is a vast portion of people in Pakistan who are either inactive or are
deprived of access to modern technologies

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