For English version, see below.
Public Confidence
in Democracy Remains High in Pakistan - PILDAT Survey
-
66%
of Pakistanis Look Favourably Upon the Overall Quality
of Democracy in Pakistan: PILDAT Releases Findings of the Public Opinion
Poll on the Quality of Democracy in Pakistan: June 2014-May 2015 to Commemorate
the International Day of Democracy
-
64%
of the Respondents Believe that Democratically Elected Governments Constitute
the Best System for Pakistan; Only 20% see
Another Military Rule as Best for the Country
-
80%
of the Respondents say that Holding Local Government Elections Nationwide
in Pakistan is Important
-
64%
of the Respondents Rate Positively Freedom and Independence of the Media
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Popular Grievances
Pinned Down on the Poor Performance of Bureaucracy, Rather Than on Politicians:
Only 33% of the Respondents Rate Positively
the Effectiveness of the Bureaucracy
-
56%
of the Respondents Repose ‘High’ to ‘Very High’
Level of Trust in their Favourite Political Party
September
14; In encouraging signs for Pakistan’s democracy, 66%
of respondents looked favourably upon the quality of democracy in the
country, whereas 64% believe that
democratically elected governments constitute the best system for Pakistan.
It also seems that the people of Pakistan have decided to depart from the history
of Military takeovers, with only 20% of
the respondents stating that another Military takeover would be beneficial for
the country.
These findings are released from
PILDAT Public Opinion Poll on the Quality of Democracy in Pakistan for the Second
Year of the Federal and Provincial Governments, June 2014-May 2015 on the International
Day of Democracy.
Denoting the importance people
of Pakistan attach with Local Governments, a substantial 80%
of the respondents said that holding Local Government elections nationwide are
somewhat to very important. On the other hand, 72%
of respondents believed that elected Local Governments are somewhat to very
important in solving the problems faced by Pakistani Citizens.
Finding of PILDAT’s Public
Opinion Poll also show that popular grievances are getting pinned down on the
poor performance of bureaucracy, with only 33%
of the respondents rating positively its effectiveness. On the other
hand, 56% of the respondents stated
that they reposed high to very high level of trust in their favourite political
party.
The survey results are released
from a two-part PILDAT survey covering separately Quality of Governance
and Quality of Democracy. The two-part public opinion survey
was conducted by PILDAT upon the completion of the 2nd year of National and
Provincial Assemblies and Governments in office in May 2015. The nationwide
poll was conducted during June 02-12, 2015 with a nationally
representative sample size of 3231 citizens throughout Pakistan.
Public Opinion was assessed on
the basis of 11 core indicators of democracy. In a positive development, there
emerged 6 indicators with approval ratings of more than 50%
implying that majority of the population expressed its approval on the issues.
These included:
-
Overall
Quality of Democracy (66%)
-
Independence
of Media (64%)
-
Effectiveness
of the Supreme Court (55%)
-
Trust
in Favourite Political Party (56%)
-
Effectiveness
of the Federal Cabinet (52%)
-
Democratic
Oversight of the Security Sector (51%)
Notwithstanding this overall
positivity in democratic assessment, the 5 out of the 11 Indicators
assessed in this public opinion poll received approval ratings below 50%, which
included:
-
Effectiveness
of the Bureaucracy (33%)
-
Safeguarding
Sovereignty of the State (43%)
-
Transfer
of Powers at the Provincial Level (44%)
-
Respect
for Human Rights (47%);
-
Effectiveness
of the National Assembly (48%)
Figure 1: Trust
in Institutions
Findings of the Public Opinion
Poll also showed that the Military continues to be the most popular State Institution
with an Approval Rating of 75%. Respondents
also reposed high level of trust in the Supreme Court/High Courts, the Electronic
Media and the Print Media.
The Supreme and High Courts of
Pakistan earned a strong Approval Rating of 62%,
and the Electronic Media and the Print Media Approval Ratings of 53%
and 55% respectively. It was however
disappointing to see that institutions such as the National Assembly and the
Election Commission, that may be considered the bastions of a democracy, could
not retain high-level of public’s trust. Similar was the case with the
Police, which managed to garner an Approval Rating of 32%
amongst the respondents. |
