Political Determinants of Voting Behaviour in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The aim of this study is to find the political determinants of voting behaviour in the selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is a quantitative study and aims at knowing the political factors of voting behaviour in the earlier three general elections i.e., 2002, 2008 and 2013. Its major purpose is to see the changing trend of the voters in the above-mentioned elections. It has investigated 292 respondents who had cast vote in any of the target elections. The researchers asked questions through Likert scale designed questionnaire under the purposive sampling technique. The study finds a significant association of political factors such as candidate’s affiliation, political party affiliation, party leadership affiliation and party ideology with the voting behaviour. The results of the data show changing scenario as the importance of numerous factors is replaced by others. The study recommends that local political leadership as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan should come forward to actively launch an awareness movement for women participation in elections. It should focus on the importance of vote towards increasing the ratio of participation in voting process, especially women’s voting.