**Issues and Attitudes **](http://www.iri.org/mena/pakistan/2007-07-31-pakistan.asp)
Previous IRI polls have revealed a slow increase in the dissatisfaction and frustration of Pakistani voters. In IRI’s June/July 2007 poll, that trend has accelerated. Voters are increasingly pessimistic about the economy, their security, and the direction of the country; the government is bearing the brunt of their dissatisfaction.
A majority of voters now feel the country is headed in the wrong direction (33 percent right track; 59 percent wrong track). This represents a 10 percent drop in those responding that the country was headed in the right direction and a 15 percent increase in those responding that the country was headed in the wrong direction when compared to IRI’s February/12 – March 7 poll, when voters were evenly split.
A plurality of voters say that their personal economic situation has worsened in the past year (29 percent improved; 34 percent worsened; 34 percent same). Compared to the last poll, this represents a four point drop in the number saying improved and an increase by the same amount in the number saying it has worsened.
Pakistanis are increasingly pessimistic about their economic future. Thirty-four percent report that they feel the economy will get better over the next year (down 7 percent), while 18 percent feel it will get worse (up four percent) and another 18 percent feel that it will be about the same; 30 percent said that they did not know, reflecting a high degree of uncertainty.
Pakistani attitudes about the economy are of paramount importance as economic issues continue to be the single greatest concern of voters. When asked what one issue would determine which party they would vote for in the upcoming elections, the economy far out-paced any other issue.
**Seventy-two percent were opposed to Musharraf’s suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar M. Chaudhry.
**An even larger percentage (80 percent) stated that they wanted the Chief
Justice to be reinstated. Voters were also strongly opposed to the government’s attempts to restrict the media (61 percent opposed) as well as the possibility of a declaration of emergency (60 percent opposed).
As an indication of the extent to which Pakistanis opposed Musharraf’s suspension of the Chief Justice, even Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q)(the party most associated with Musharraf) voters were against the decision.
Sixty percent said that they were opposed to the suspension and 69 percent said that he should be reinstated. PML-Q voters are also opposed to a declaration of an emergency (56 percent opposed) and were against attempts to restrict the media (50 percent opposed).
**
Voters also blame the government for the violence in Karachi surrounding the Chief Justice’s visit to that city.
**Thirty-eight percent blamed the government for the violence and another 38 percent blamed ruling coalition partner Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM);
only eight percent said that it was the fault of the opposition parties and four percent cited the Chief Justice; 90 percent said that there should be an investigation into the incident, and those responsible should be arrested, put on trial and punished; 43 percent said that they observed the general strike that was called to protest the incident, while 45 percent said that they did not. **
Voter Backlash **
As mentioned previously, the government is bearing the brunt of this growing voter anger; 60 percent of voters feel that the government is not doing a good job on the issues most important to them. When asked if they felt that the ruling coalition was doing a good enough job to deserve re-election, 58 percent replied no. This represents a sharp increase from the February/March poll
when 35 percent were against re-election, and it is the first time in IRI’s polling that a majority replied no.
**In addition to the government, President Musharraf is also personally bearing the brunt of voter anger. Although he receives decent marks for his Seven Point Agenda, voters are generally dissatisfied with his performance. For the first time in IRI’s polls, Musharraf failed to get a majority approval rating.
**
**Musharraf’s job approval rating has dropped 20 points (34 percent approved; 49 percent disapproved). **When asked if they approved or disapproved of the job he was doing, only 34 percent said they approved while 49 percent said that they disapproved. This 34 percent approval rating represents a drop of 20 percent from Musharraf’s 54 percent approval rating in the February/March poll, and a drop of nearly 30 percent from the high of 63 percent he received in the September 5 – 25, 2006 poll.
Musharraf did rate higher when voters were asked to evaluate his achievements on each item of the Seven Point Agenda he laid out for the country when he assumed power in 1999. On each point, more people rated his performance as good than did poor.
**A majority of voters are opposed to Musharraf’s re-election to another term as President (33 percent support; 64 percent opposed). ** In addition to impacting his approval rating, Pakistani dissatisfaction with Musharraf is also impacting support for his re-election as President. In the February/March poll, 50 percent supported Musharraf’s re-election while 40 percent were opposed. In the latest poll, re-election support dropped 17 points to 33 percent while opposition increased 24 points to 64 percent.
**When voters were asked if they thought Musharraf should resign, 63 percent replied yes.
Musharraf Compared
**As Musharraf has declined, Benazir Bhutto and to a lesser extent Nawaz Sharif have emerged as the greatest beneficiaries.
**When asked who they thought could best lead the nation out of the current crisis, 42 percent said Bhutto while 30 percent said Musharraf.
Voters would chose Bhutto as the best President for Pakistan.** When asked who they would prefer as President, 39 percent said Bhutto and 30 percent said Musharraf. When presented with the choice of Musharraf or Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry for the office of President, Musharraf beat the Chief Justice by a margin of 32 percent to 25 percent; however, 38 percent replied neither.
**Thirty-two percent of voters picked Bhutto as the best leader to handle the problems facing Pakistan. **
In the February/March poll, despite the fact that his support was starting t
decline, Musharraf still performed strongly when voters were asked what one leader they thought could best handle Pakistan’s problems. In the June/July poll, however, for the first time, Musharraf did not top the list. Benazir Bhutto emerged as voters’ top choice with 32 percent (up seven points from 25 percent), Musharraf came in second with 27 percent (down five points 32 percent), and Nawaz Sharif rounded out the top three with 21 percent (up six
points from 15 percent). Imran Khan (6 percent), Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman (4 percent), Qazi Hussain (3 percent), and Altaf Hussain (2 percent) *[oh noooo :hehe:] *trailed behind the top three.
Direct Links:
PDF FIle](http://www.iri.org/mena/pakistan/pdfs/2007-08-01-pakistan.pdf)
PPT File](http://www.iri.org/mena/pakistan/pdfs/2007-08-01-pakistan.ppt)
I have been waiting for the survey for long and it only reinforces what anyone in the country can feel. Strong anti-govt. feelings. Interesting thing is, PPP and PML-N keep a close eye on these ratings. So it’d be interesting to see if there are any changes in the party’s strategy based on these findings.
