NA-249 by-election: What do constituents prefer when they vote?

ISLAMABAD: Respondents of three different surveys have said they consider both factors before casting their vote — the political party of their choice as well as the candidate contesting the election.

Gallup Pakistan, IPSOS and Pulse Consultant conducted a survey between April 10-20 of 3,000 respondents of the NA-249 constituency. 

The question posed to the constituents was a simple one: what, in their opinion, would the constituents of NA-249 prefer when casting their votes; a candidate, a party or would they keep both the candidate and the party in mind?

IPSOS

In response to the question: "What do the constituents prefer when they vote?", as per the IPSOS survey, 50% of the constituents kept both the political party and the candidate in mind whilst voting. Twenty four per cent thought the constituency's voters will cast their votes keeping in mind a political party, while only 10% of the constituents said they would vote for the candidate. 

 GALLUP PAKISTAN

As per a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan, 34% said they preferred to vote for both the candidate and the party, while 32% said they prefer to vote for a political party, regardless of the candidate. 

Only 23% said they would prefer the candidate when heading to the ballot box. 

PULSE CONSULTANT 

The Pulse Consultant survey results varied from the other two. Only 14% of the respondents said they would prefer to vote for both the candidate and the party on election day while only 12% said they would keep in mind the candidate when they cast their votes. 

Twenty-two per cent thought they would consider the political party of their choosing while voting. 

What do voters themselves prefer when they head to the ballot box?

IPSOS, Gallup Pakistan, and Pulse Consultant then conducted a separate survey each to ask voters what they themselves prefer when they cast their votes. 

Here are the results. 

PULSE CONSULTANT

When asked what they prefer while voting, 68% of the respondents said they considered both the party and the candidate, while 17% said they voted for a political party. 

Only 15% said the single factor they kept in mind while voting was a candidate. 

IPSOS

As far as the IPSOS survey is concerned, 51% said they considered both the candidate and the party while voting. On the other hand, 25% said they voted for the political party of their choice. 

Twenty-five per cent of the respondents said they considered the candidate only when voting. 

GALLUP PAKISTAN

Meanwhile, in Gallup Pakistan's survey, 37% of the respondents said they considered both the candidate and the political party while casting their votes, while 31% said the political party of their choosing was the most important factor for them when it came to casting their vote. 

Only 22% said a candidate would be the most important factor in their minds when they cast their votes.