Impact of Exposure to Political Campaigns of Major Political Parties (PML-N, PTI & PPP) on Viewers’ Participation in Electoral Process

The General Elections 2013 in Pakistan under much tensed circumstance have utmost importance not only for Pakistan but also have vital significance for the major active players of the world. This study was designed to explore and document the exposure to political campaigns launched through television during general elections 2013 and its impact on viewers’ political participation. Survey research design was adopted to find out the viewers’ use of mass media and explore the factors behind a specific voting decision on them. The population-the whole university students-- was divided into two strata: natural sciences vs social sciences. From each strata 160 students, male and female students from BS and MA programs were taken as the unit of analysis. Stratified method for the specification of the demographic characteristics was adopted. 320 viewers were interviewed by using purposive sampling method through the questionnaire. The results figured out that most respondents (50.5%) used to watch television very frequently. Findings reveal that 54.5% viewers usually preferred to watch GEO TV. Results demonstrate that a significant number of viewers (60.5%) prefer to watch Discussions programs on TV during political campaigns. Viewers point of view reveal that 41% viewers think PML(N) launched most effective political campaign on television. Findings show that 45% respondents casted vote in favor of PML (N) and followed by PTI (32%), PPP (17%) and others (6%). Keywords: Politics, Election Campaigns, Television, Electoral Process