Elections 2018: Manifesto - A device to translate support into Vote
Headline-grabbing promises that practically wont be fulfilled should not be used to entrap the vote
(WebDesk) - Ahead of elections, the unveiling of manifesto is the most decisive phase of election campaigning. Manifestos play a crucial role in explaining the potential of any political party’s vision and the ability of the master plan in future in running the affairs of government. The election manifesto is also considered a device to translate support into votes.
Revealing the agenda ahead of elections should be the primary phase of any election campaign ran by the political parties. However in Pakistan along with other troublesome aspects of political and electoral affairs of governance, democracy and government, lacks the sense in political parties to persuade the voter on the basis of their plan and vision intended to pave the way of success and prosperity to the country.
Political parties and the intentional negligence towards Manifesto
Presenting the manifesto has become the least preference of the major political parties of Pakistan mainly due to the lack of knowledge about the significance of manifesto among masses, the criminal ignorance of the electorates due to the dearth of interest of general public to keep them intentionally in the dark and gloom, so no one bothers to interrogate what is the big plan to take the nation ahead?
The major political parties of Pakistan with the passage of time, largely because of frequent attempts to derail the system, the fear of covert conspiracy arms and loss of the trust of their favourable hands, have lost the abilities to draft the effective master plan and articulate it to deliver it to their people.
Ahead of general elections 2018, the intentional ignorance of unveiling the manifesto has been noticed from all the parties. The manifestos were presented only when the elections is just round the corner.
Pakistan People’s party as per its long political customs, was the first major political party that unveiled its manifesto just a month before the elections 2018, followed by the last ruling political party PMLN, which is already running in the hot waters and in the last, the most overconfident and zealous political party, PTI which is now being considered as the next ruling party, presented their manifestos.
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Vote is Precious - Why should voter pay attention to the Manifesto
Manifestos usually establish the agenda of the party to run office affairs after being elected, for the voter.
A voter in Pakistan should be more concerned to identify the big-plan ahead of general elections 2018 in the sectors of Education, Health, Science and Technology, Economics, foreign policy, Youth programs, Infrastructure development and legislations.
Specific, headline-grabbing promises in party manifestos’ that practically won’t be fulfilled should not be used as a net to entrap the voter. A voter needs to understand that such promises create a misleading impression of the proper role of politicians and parliament.
It is a voter’s responsibility to scrutinise the road map given by the political parties to opt for the manifesto makes more sense and is doable. Rather going after ‘What’ is being promised, a voter should consider the plan explaining ‘How’ the colossal assertions made by the parties are going to be achieved.
An overview of the manifestos of the PPP, PMLN and PTI
Here are the highlights of the political parties, given to help understand and compare a voter the master plan of these political parties in the backdrop of the nerve-ticking issues Pakistan is going through, to avoid the sheer confusion of concrete facts and hollow vows.
Pakistan People’s Party
PPP manifesto is given the title ‘BB ka wada nibhana hai, Pakistan ko bachana hai’. With the reviving slogan of ‘Roti, Kapra aur Makaan, Ilm, Sehat, Sab ko Kaam’, under the young and enthusiastic leadership of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP manifesto’s key features are:
- Legislations to ensure access to basic health
- Issuance of free of cost Family health card
- Mother and child support program
- Provision of clean drinking water
- Differently-abled health cards for special persons
- Revitalising the Benazir income support program
- Bhook mitao program promising ration cards
PPP s free of cost Family health card, Mother and child support program, Bhook mitao program, Apna ghar, apni galiyan program and Benazir Kissan Card are to attract the rural voter of Pakistan
- Apna ghar, apni galiyan program aiming regularisation of irregular settlements
- Formation of truth and reconciliation program
- To introduce Benazir Kissan Card and subsidies for farmers
- Strengthening roots of freedom of speech and democracy
- To increase education spending to 5 pc of GDP by 2025
- To develop, mainstream and implement a national action plan to deal with climate change issues
- Measures to ensure women’s empowerment and the revival of agriculture
- To criminalise enforced disappearances
Pakistan Muslim League (N)
PMLN unveiled its manifesto with the name of ‘Vote Ko Izzat Do, Khidmat Ko Vote Do’ which is also the narrative of PMLN after the ouster of former Prime Minister and PMLN supremo Nawaz Sharif.
PMLN’s manifesto is being considered the most articulated and comprehensive master plan presented among the manifestos of all political parties. Weighing more on PMLN’s past progress and development, this strong — forward-looking and development-oriented manifesto delineates the following expansion, up gradation and inclusion plan:
- Preventable diseases program include expansion of immunisation, polio eradication and ‘first 1000 days’ malnutrition reduction program
- Expansion of PM’s national health program with an enhancement of financial coverage to 0.45M/family/yr
- Enhancing 20% annual health care expenditure and health work force and financing
- Reducing sustainable growth to 1.6%, promoting birth space and family planning
- Providing energy coupons to poor to pay commercial rates
- Poverty alleviation programs aims to eradicate poverty by 2030
- Distribution of lands in 5 acre packages to the landless tenants
- Setup incubation centres, accelerator programs and online support service
- Generate mass employment through housing and construction industry
- To bring Agriculture revolution which includes use of foreign investment, installation of drip irrigation, lining of water courses, reforms to support farmers
- Providing interest free loans to more than 2 million entrepreneurs and small/landless farmers
Providing energy coupons to poor, distribution of lands, generation of mass employment through housing and construction industry, providing interest free loans, technical training opportunities to 3m people and creating 2 lac apprenticeship positions, to create Hazara, South Punjab and Bahawalpur provinces and ensuring social inclusion commitments of PMLN delienates party s intention to continue developments to address the issues of poor, middle class and society s marginalised strata.
- To extend technical training opportunities to 3m people
- To create 200,000 apprenticeship positions for skill development in collaboration with 5,000 companies
- Disburse loans to 2 million persons with disabilities
- To launch nine special economic zones
- Increase the size of IT industry from $3.1 billion to $10 billion
- To add 15,000 MWs of power by 2025
- To increase 7pc GDP growth and revival of top-gear economic activity attracting foreign investment
- To reform taxation, increasing tax to GDP ratio from 13 pc to 16 pc, lower corporate tax rate to 25% by 2023
- Ensuring social inclusion of all the marginalized strata
- To construct the Diamer Bhasha, Mohamand and other dams in the line of water policies
- To create Hazara, South Punjab and Bahawalpur provinces
- To eradicate illiteracy by 2025, national education emergency will be declared and education budget would be enhanced to 4% of GDP
- To remain committed to Charter of Democracy and to build strong dimension of democratic governance
- To hold local government elections within six months of general elections
- To make all government services ‘Digital First’
- To introduce safe city project in all major cities
- To create world class railway system, subsidize fares and connect Gawadar to the rest of the country via railways
- To expand laptop schemes, provide digital learning tools and scale up free public wi-fi hotspots to all major cities
- To establish 250 stadiums, 50 Astroturfs, build sports academics
- To develop tourism in northern and coastal regions of Pakistan also infrastructure development at religious tourist sites
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafi (PTI)
The ambitious goals of Pakistn Tehreek-e-Insaf for 2018-2023 in its much awaited manifesto titled ‘Road to Naya Pakistan’ with a slogan ‘Ab Sirf Imran Khan, Balay Py Nishaan’ pledges following:
- To turn Pakistan an Islamic welfare state
- To create 10m employments in 05 years
- To build 5m low-cost housing units in 05 years
- To create new province in southern Punjab
- To build a Special Task Force to fight the corruption and ensuring the accountability across the board
- To plant 10 billion trees to deal with environmental changes
- To replicate the KP Police Act of 2017 across other provinces
- To reform prison system by upgrading existing infrastructure
- To ensure equal rights and respect for the residents of tribal areas by consolidating FATA’s merger with KP
- To empower the Balochistan government to launch and champion large-scale efforts for political reconciliation and implement a plan to include the local population in CPEC
To create 10m employments, to build 5m low-cost housing units and new province in southern Punjab, build a Special Task Force to fight the corruption, to plant 10 billion trees, to solve Karachi water and administrative problems, to develop 20 new tourist destinations in 5 years and to replicate the KP Police Act of 2017 across other provinces is the reiteration of PTI Chairman Imran Khan s vows.
- To plan to solve Karachi water and administrative problems
- To promote gender parity by upgrading girl education and women economic opportunities
- To ensure voting rights for overseas Pakistanis
- To launch a ten-year incentive plan for rapid growth of the SME sector
- To develop 20 new tourist destinations in 5 years; 4 each year
- To expedite construction of Diamer-Bhasha and other dams
- To launch a nationwide literacy programme to engage 50,000 youth volunteers to teach literacy
- To ensure 2% job quota fulfilment for differently-abled persons at all government establishments
- To provide Playgrounds at Tehsil level, Training centres and gymnasiums at Divisional Level to be used for training provincial and national teams and Category A (National and International standard) sports complexes at the provincial level through a phased approach
- To prioritize politico-economic diplomacy to revitalize the economy through foreign direct investment and trade
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For more elections 2018, news and updates, please visit Dunya Election Cell
