Summary The approval rate of the quality of democracy has reached 66% this year; it was only 56% in 2014
LAHORE: (Web Desk) – In a report published by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT) on Monday showed signs of improving trust among the Pakistanis in democracy, democratic institutions and the government. Considerable resurgence was observed in the approval ratings of the quality of democracy in the country during the last one year as it improved to 66% in 2015 from only 56% last year.
According to the report published by PILDAT, the approval rating of the quality of democracy has improved. At the same time, the number of people believing in General Election (GE) 2013 to be rigged has also seen a big drop. The number of people believing the GE 2013 to be rigged in 2014 was 37% but the percentage has fallen to 30% this year.
The respondents rated the government’s performance in ensuring democratic oversight of the security sector at 51%.
Moreover, the trust displayed by the respondents in higher courts is also a positive sign. Surging to 63%, the approval ratings of the higher judiciary prove that the trust of the nation is improving in the legal and democratic institutions of the country. Besides, the approval ratings for media were also above 50%. However, the performance of the political parties, Election Commission and civil courts still remains a drawback for democracy in the country. It is interesting to note, however, that though the approval ratings of the political parties remain 36%, the approval rating of the National Assembly is 49%. It seems to imply that though the people are not happy about the political parties, their approval ratings about the National Assembly, which is a symbol of the political parties’ collective wisdom, is much higher.
The approval ratings of the army remained the highest, as always, at 75%.
Among the political leaders and political parties, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and its leader Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif continue to lead the competitors by massive margins. The ruling party’s approval ratings saw an incredible rise in 2015. In 2014, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seemed to be almost catching up with the PML-N with just a difference of 4% but PML-N’s approval ratings skyrocketed to 70% in 2015 while PTI’s approval ratings saw a sharp decline of 6%, maximizing the difference between the approval ratings of the two parties to 26%.
Nawaz Sharif, at the same time, emerged as the leader with highest approval rating in the country (75%), rivaled only by his own brother Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab. Surprisingly, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif’s approval rating was 69%, 6% below that of Nawaz Sharif. But the bigger surprise comes as the former President General (r) Pervez Musharraf emerged as the 4th most popular leader of the country after the 3 Sharifs at the top. Musharraf’s approval ratings (51%) are higher than those of Chairman PTI Imran Khan (49%).
Complete report can be read at: Public Opinion on Quality of Democracy in Pakistan
