Party tickets will go to youth - PTI

Statement

Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan had stated that 35 percent party tickets would be awarded to youth in general elections of 2013. He made this announcement in a press conference on April 15, 2013.

 Background

The PTI emerged as a political party claiming to represent the youth of Pakistan.

Imran Khan said his party would field 800 candidates across the country with over 600 being debutants and 35 percent of them below the age of 40.

However, latest Gallup Pakistan survey conducted on May 11, 2013 (Election Day) revealed that 37 percent of new voters who took part in the general elections, voted in favor of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) whereas 26% of them voted for PTI.

The voting trend in 2013 General Elections

37% youth voted for PML-N

26% youth voted for PTI

19% youth voted for PPP

 The Check

In Pakistan, population in the age group of 15-29 years is considered as youth. However PTI has a different definition.

While talking to Truth Tracker, PTI’s Senior Vice President Hamid Khan said that the matter as to how the age group of youth should be defined by the party was discussed during the Party meetings and it was decided to place the youth in the age group of 25-35 for allocation of tickets.

About the allocation of tickets to youth in each province, Hamid Khan confirmed that the tickets awarded to youth were more than 25 percent, if not 35 percent as initially promised by the party leadership.

When contacted, Additional Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Sher Afgan did not confirm the percentage of tickets allocated to the youth however he said that the PTI focused on youth and most of the candidates of the party who made it to the National and provincial assemblies were young people.

Afgan also informed that the ECP would try to develop the data in order to make available the age group of candidates from every political party.

Details

As opined by Iftikhar Ahmed, who headed the largest project dedicated to election coverage of the general elections 2013 at GEO TV (a private Pakistani news channel), the PTI emerged as a youth’s party and gave significant representation to young candidates while allocating tickets.

According to the statistics provided by Ahmed, total allocation of tickets by PTI is as under:

KPK: 134 tickets — 34 tickets allocated to youth

Balochistan: 44 tickets — 20 tickets allocated to youth

FATA: 14 tickets — 5 tickets allocated to youth 

Sindh: 191 tickets — 10 tickets (while others not confirmed as yet) allocated to youth

Punjab: Looking for data 

Ruling

The available facts and figures clearly indicate that the PTI has mostly fulfilled its promise.