The latest survey by Gallup Pakistan carried out to assess public perception over the government’s handling of the coronavirus shows that Pakistanis were more satisfied with the response between October and December than they were in June 2020.
On average, 73% people appreciated the government’s performance against coronavirus in these months, whereas 23% described the government’s response to the epidemic as unsatisfactory. The remaining 4% did not answer the question.
More than 1,000 people from across the country took part in the survey, which was conducted between October 21 and December 15, 2020.
According to Gallup Pakistan, the rate of satisfaction with government performance has increased between March 2020 and October-December 2020.
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The satisfaction rate was 60% in March, 82% in April, 67% in June and 69% in August. It then rose to 70% in September and to 73% between October and December.
Pakistanis 21% more satisfied than the global average
The survey revealed that the rate of Pakistanis satisfied with the government’s performance is 21% higher than the world average.
In Pakistan, whereas the satisfaction rate is 73%, the global satisfaction level stands at 52%.
The number of people dissatisfied, therefore, also rank higher globally at 45%, versus 23% dissatisfied in Pakistan. The satisfaction levels from across 32 countries were measured to compare with those of Pakistan.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of 11 political parties, have been attempting to topple the sitting government. However, it has so far failed to attract a large number of people.
There is also an opinion that the opposition is likely to fail due to an obvious that it has no anti-government plan. “The opposition will not be able to sell out its narrative. Khan’s government has a success story when it comes to the Foreign Relations, it has an exemplary performance when it comes to defeating COVID-19, and Khan’s speeches at the UN made him a hero,” a senior official told GVS. The officer was of the view that the opposition could set the agenda on high inflation but that is insufficient to shape an anti-government narrative when the current government seems to have done more than its capacity.
Notably, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Pakistan, in a nationwide survey, conducted by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights a combined 57 percent of respondents believe that PM Imran Khan was doing a “very good job” while 56 percent gave approval to the government policies.
According to details, the survey results, announced on March 14, 2019 revealed strong approval ratings for the new government and repose confidence in the July 2018 elections. The respondents expressed their concern over the state of the economy, but at the same time, 17 percent said Prime Minister Imran Khan was doing a “good job” while 40 percent agreed with his policies.
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A plurality of respondents; 40 percent said they were willing to give the government one year; 26 percent said two years, and 14 percent said that the prime minister had started delivering on his campaign promises.