Daily Times

The finish line to Pakistan’s 11th election has arrived, and we’re just about to find out who manages to cross first. Ironically, it isn’t the judiciary, the electables or the manifestos that may have the most crucial impact on the outcome — it is the undecided voter.

Despite the fact that some parties and their candidates were more equal than others this election, “the poll of polls” suggests that the Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are equally matched in many areas of the country. Unsurprisingly, the final battle does not consist of a whole lot of parties.

Of course, there are other players in this game, but with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) continuing to solely dominate in Sindh, it is the contest between PML-N and PTI that one has to watch out for. The fate of the two parties hangs in the balance, and it is the undecided voter who will help elect the right leader to the throne.

PML-N continues to keep a good hold on Punjab despite PTI’s recent steroid-infused approach to electable candidates — in the last term, PTI has almost doubled its supporters. But even with the judiciary delivering verdicts that may have upset the PMLN prospects, this election is still too close to call.

The poll of polls data comes from Gallup Pakistan and consists of surveys from Gallup itself, alongside the Institute for Public Opinion Research, Pulse Consultants, Sustainable Development Policy Institute/Dawn, and Roshan Pakistan. The latest survey has pointed out that around 12 per cent of the voter-base consists of undecided voters. It is this segment that can tip the balance in favour of one party — or it could push our democracy towards a hung parliament.

The only thing this 12 per cent is helping highlight is the importance of every single voter’s choice. The idea that every vote maters, is no longer theoretical in this election.  *

Published in Daily Times, July 25^th 2018.