Lahore, Pakistan – PILDAT (Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency) is pleased to announce the online launch of the second edition of its seminal report, “Democracy’s Vanguard: Youth’s Electoral Participation in Pakistan.” This comprehensive report offers profound insights into the dynamic role of youth in Pakistan’s electoral process, the challenges they face, and what can be done to further improve turnout.
This report highlights the remarkable progress made in youth participation in electoral and political processes in Pakistan. Recent data from Gallup Pakistan’s exit poll reveals a notable increase in youth participation in the electoral process. Comparing the data from the 2024 General Election with historical trends, PILDAT highlights remarkable progress in youth voter engagement.
Youth voter turnout has surged to the highest ever 48% in 2024, a substantial rise of 11 percentage points from 37% in 2018, reflecting the effectiveness of strategic initiatives aimed at empowering and amplifying youth voices within the democratic framework.
Another historical development was that the Youth Voter Turnout almost matched the overall voter turnout. In the past, Youth Voter Turnout always lagged behind the Overall Voter Turnout from as low as 5 percentage points in 1993 to as high as 29 percentage points in 2013.
While overall voter turnout in the 2024 elections has experienced a slight decline from the last year’s General Election held in 2018 (52.1%), the increase in estimated youth voter turnout is very good news, made possible by serious efforts made by several institutions and organizations including PILDAT.
The report sheds light on fascinating facts and figures, including the comparison of tickets assigned to youth by political parties in the most recent elections, and various other critical segments.
In this report, you will find a comprehensive overview of PILDAT’s efforts over the years. PILDAT has hosted 46 dedicated forums and sessions with youth and other key stakeholders, focusing on ensuring the integrity of general elections in Pakistan and addressing the absence of young voters.
Additionally, PILDAT organized 15 capacity-building sessions across 15 educational institutions throughout Pakistan, reaching approximately 1,977 students. These sessions emphasized the importance of the youth vote and aimed to increase awareness of Pakistan’s electoral process. With this report, PILDAT reaffirms its dedication to fostering a culture of democratic participation and policy engagement among Pakistan’s youth.
Similarly, PILDAT held various consultative forums and dialogues on the revival of student unions across Pakistan.
PILDAT has acknowledged the partnership of various institutions like the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and organizations like The Body Shop, META, UNFPA, FES Pakistan, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), UNDP Pakistan, TikTok, Interloop Limited, Geo/Jang Group, The Bank of Punjab, The University of Lahore, and various other partners for their support to PILDAT to advance its efforts of proactive engagement of youth in electoral, political, and democratic processes in Pakistan.
Available in both English and Urdu, this edition ensures accessibility to a wider audience, enabling more individuals to gain valuable insights from the data and analyses presented. To explore the full report and gain deeper insights into youth electoral participation in Pakistan, visit PILDAT’s website.
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