Young voters enjoy decisive role in next election

Young voters are likely to play a deciding role in the upcoming general elections with more than 45 per cent of eligible voters aged less than 35 years, according to statistics obtained from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The latest figures show that the number of registered voters in the country has reached over 126 million, as of June 30, 2023, including 60.8 million male and 50.7 million female voters.

Over 20.35 million voters were aged between 18 to 25 years, 30.26 million voters were aged between 26 to 35 years and 20.77 million voters were aged between 36 to 45 years. The ratio of male and female voters in Pakistan stood at 54.02 per cent and 45.98 per cent respectively, the report added.

The report said that most voters belonged to Punjab with almost 70.16 million people qualified to vote followed by Sindh with 20.65 million, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 20.16 million, of which 11.79 million are male while 9.82 million are female.

The number of registered voters in Balochistan is over 5.27 million of which 2.96 million are male and 2.31 million are female. Meanwhile, in Islamabad, the percentage of male voters is 52.51 per cent and 47.49 per cent of female voters.

The date came on the heels of reports that there would be no extension in the term of the National Assembly; rather the national and two provincial legislatures might be dissolved a few days before the end of their term to give an additional 30 days to political parties to run their election campaigns.