Bane of Pakistani politicians: young voters with smartphones
ISLAMABAD, July 21 (AFP) - The crowd of young Pakistanis, many armed with smartphones, surround the politician's car and begin streaming live footage of something extraordinary: angry voters asking their elected representatives what they have done for them lately.
A titanic 46 million people below the age of 35 are registered to vote in nationwide elections on July 25 -many of them savvy social media users who are posting videos calling out the powerful.
In one clip, influential politician, landowner and tribal chief Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan is filmed in his car in the central city of Multan surrounded by young men chanting “thief ” and “turncoat”.
“Where were you during the last five years?” they ask Bosan, complaining over the poor state of roads in the area.
To be held accounta- ble in such a public manner is virtually unheard of for most Pakistani politicians, especially in rural areas where many of the videos have been filmed.
There feudal landowners, village elders and religious leaders have for decades been elected unopposed. Many are known to use their power over residents to bend them to their will. Dubbed the “electables”, these politicians command huge vote banks. Most also take a flexible approach to ideology, and are courted by political parties, who view winning their allegiance as a passport to power.
But videos like the one of Bosan have gone viral in the weeks leading up to the polls, shared thou- sands of times in a country of some 207 million people, of whom roughly a quarter use 3G and 4G internet, according to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority.