Popularity chart: PPP may lead polls in upper Sindh: Survey

First phase of ActionAid and SIDD survey completed in six districts of upper Sindh.

HYDERABAD:

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) may lead the upcoming polls in upper Sindh, but its alliance with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has been disapproved by its electorate.

These trends surfaced in a survey conducted by ActionAid in collaboration with a provincial think tank, Sindh Institute of Democracy and Development (Sidd). The survey, being carried out in three phases in Sindh, just completed its first phase in Sukkur, Khaipur, Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Dadu and Jamshoro districts. The opinion poll is based on qualitative research in which the surveyors interacted with a cross-section of civil society, political parties and local communities.

“We held multiple sessions in each of the six districts and asked 17 questions from the participants,” Zulfiqar Halepoto of Sidd told The Express Tribune.

In the 2008 elections, the PPP won nine out of 10 National Assembly seats and 25 out of 27 Sindh Assembly seats from these districts, losing only one national and two provincial seats to the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F). The survey revealed that 79 per cent of the participants voted for the PPP in the 2008 elections, but only 45 per cent said they will vote for it again.

More than 64 per cent of those who voted for the PPP said they sympathised with the party after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Nearly 17 per cent who voted were affiliated with the party and nine per cent voted merely due to their dislike for General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

The same reasons do not, however, exist anymore and the participants said they are more concerned about other issues.

The PML-F appeared to be a popular choice with 25 per cent of the participants opting for it, followed by 10 per cent for the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf, Sindhi nationalists and the MQM were all below five per cent in the districts covered in the first phase.

Interestingly, 39 per cent of the participants withdrew their faith in the PML-N when they were asked which party is capable of solving Sindh’s problems.

Around 30 per cent of the people felt that denial of national rights is the country’s worst problems, followed by 25 per cent who feel bad governance is a problem. Ten per cent of the people felt that the law and order situation and the energy crisis needs to be resolved soon, followed by eight per cent who believe religious extremism is a huge problem.

PPP-MQM duo

The PPP-MQM duo in Sindh in the outgoing government was opposed by 94 per cent of the people, while over 75 per cent supported a future alliance among the PPP, PML-F, PML-N and nationalists in Sindh. Yet, the people were divided when the PML-F, PML-N and nationalists coalition was suggested as an alternate to the PPP. More than 90 per cent viewed the role of the MQM in provincial politics negatively.

Party manifestoes

Around 25 per cent of the people recommended the parties should include education reforms in their election manifestos, followed by 22 per cent who asked for jobs, 14 per cent who wanted rule of law, 12 per cent for flood rehabilitation, and nine per cent for improvement in irrigation.

Only seven per cent have faith the new government will allow merit in jobs and 16 per cent felt it would be transparent.

The second and third phases of the survey in the remaining 16 districts of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and parts of Sukkur division will be completed by the end of April.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2013.