Were Feb 8 general elections held in country transparently?

Up to 58 per cent of the people in the country are of the view that voting for the general elections was held transparently on February 8, according to market research firm Ipsos Pakistan.

While 54 per cent of the people said the polls were free from rigging, 39 per cent of the people believed rigging took place in last month’s balloting.

People in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa firmly believed rigging took place in the elections, with up to 73 per cent of the people in the province making the claim. However, public opinion is divided over the issue of the suspension of the cellular phone service on the polling day.

Majority of the Pakistani people are of the view that voting for the general elections was held in a transparent, just and impartial manner, a survey conducted by Ipsos Pakistan revealed. More than 3,000 people from all over the country took part in the survey that was conducted from February 11 to February 19.

Up to 58 per cent of the people who took part in the survey responded that the polling process was held transparently as the elections were held impartially and in a just manner. However, 24 per cent of the respondents differed from this view and raised questions about the polling process. Eighteen per cent of the participants of the survey did not say anything on this issue due to a lack of any firm opinions.

At 63 per cent, Punjab had the biggest ratio of participants who said the polls were held transparently, while the ratio in Sindh was 62 per cent, in Islamabad 61 per cent, in Balochistan 55 per cent and in KP 33 per cent.

While responding to the question about rigging in the February 8 elections, 54 per cent of the respondents believed the polls were rigging-free, while 39 per cent of the participants said rigging did take place. Seven per cent of the respondents were indecisive on this issue as they did not give any clear-cut answer.

At 73 per cent, KP had the biggest ratio of respondents who believed rigging did take place, while the ratio in Islamabad was 49 per cent, in Balochistan 38 per cent, in Punjab 35 per cent in Sindh 28 per cent.

The opinion poll was divided over the government’s decision to shut down cellular phone service on February 8. Up to 33 per cent of the respondents believed it was a good move, 29 per cent of the respondents believed it was a bad move, while 38 per cent of the respondents did not have any opinion on this issue.

At 45 per cent, Balochistan had the highest number of respondents who believed it was a good decision of the government to shut down cellular phone service, while KP had the lowest number of respondents at 16 per cent who appreciated this move.