BUNER
As many as 262,252 registered voters would decide fate of eight candidates including Pakistan Tahrik e Insaf leader, Barrsiter Gohar Ali Khan and Jumat e Islami Pakstan (JIP) Bakht Jehan Khan in the lone National Assembly constituency (NA-10) of Buner district on February 8, 2024.
The eight contesting candidates including Gohar Ali Khan backed by PTI, Bakht Jehan Khan of JIP, Asad Rauf of ANP, Sher Akbar PTIP, Salar Khan PMLN and Yousaf Ali of PPP are flexing muscles on NA-10 where election campaign has reached to its climax.
Besides corner meetings and public rallies, the candidates expedited door to door campaign as only four days left in the general election 2024.
The candidates also approached large tribes and communities to achieve maximum support ahead of polling day ie February 8.
Former MNA Sher Akbar Khan, who won the 2018 election with 58,0371 votes and 2013 election with 29,170 votes on PTI and JIP tickets respectively, has quited both the parties and is contesting 2024 election on ticket of PTI Parliamentarians.
Sher Akbar is being challenged by barrister Gohar Khan and other stalwarts and needs to work hard to retain his seat, according to political experts. “Ahmed Buneri, a voter of Sowari Buner said that he was eagerly awaiting to poll his first vote. “Buner’s voters has several problems such as unemployment, poverty, inadequate healthcare and education services. I will vote to that candidate who has a workable program for resolutions of these problems,” he said.
He said that great enthusiasm was being witnessed among voters especially youth who would exercise right of votes in large numbers.
According to ECP, total proportion of voters below 35 years of age is about 45.84 percent youth. Out of total 128 million voters, 55.57m voters are aged 18 to 35 years, whereas their number was slightly above 46m (43.82pc) in the 2018 general election.
Among these young voters (45.84pc), 31.98 million or 26.38pc are in the age group of 26 to 35 years, while as many as 23.58 million or 19.46pc individuals are aged between 18 and 25 years.
Similarly, 23.58 million young voters comprise 14.86 million male and 8.72 million female voters, many of whom will be first-time voters looking towards parties’ manifesto and past service records due to increased literacy rate.
The province-wise analysis of these 23.58m young voters magnified that Punjab alone has 13.18 million voters (8.18 million male and over 5 million female); followed by Sindh with 4.71 million voters (over 3 million male, 1.71 million female); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 4.41 million voters (2.84million male, 1.57million female) and Balochistan with 1.10 million voters (around 737,000 male and 364,000 female).
Likewise, 175,411 voters aged less than 25 years including 98,105 male and 77,306 female voters are in the federal capital.
Muhammad Rauf, Chairman, Political Science Department, University of Peshawar young voters would play crucial role in deciding fate of political parties and independent candidates on February 8, 2024.
He said that hereditary politics was declining due to increase in literacy rate in Pakistan and candidates needs to work hard to attract young voters attention.
