Role of types of electoral rigging, socio-economic status, politics and voting behavior in the formation of attitudes toward electoral integrity

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the associations between socioeconomic status, types of rigging (pre- polling-day and post-), politics and voting behavior, vote casting and perceptions of rigging in Pakistan’s most recent elections, and attitudes toward electoral integrity. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from students at three different universities. In all, 748 units of analysis (488 male and 260 female) recorded their responses by means of a self-structured questionnaire. Linear regression was applied to measure the associations between variables, and the reliability and validity of the scales were tested. Findings A significant relationship was found between pre-poll rigging, post-poll rigging, politics and voting behavior, socioeconomic characteristics (i.e. age, education, father’s education, background or place of residence and monthly household incomes), the perception of rigging in the last elections and attitudes toward electoral integrity. Practical implications Pakistan’s history has been blemished by electoral malpractices during both de facto and de jure regimes. Attention has formerly been paid to either polling-day or post-election rigging. The relationship of electoral integrity with different factors explored in this study have usually been ignored or overlooked. The findings of this study would help policy-makers, youth experts and academicians to reorient their behaviors to strengthen political stability, the rule of law and the continuation of democracy via their participation in the system. Originality/value To the researchers’ best knowledge, there has not been a single peer-reviewed study of Pakistan which has explored the associations between the variables examined for this study. The main academic challenge the researchers faced was to find a standardized and contextualized scale or tool to explore how different types of vote-rigging affected attitudes toward electoral integrity. Thus, the structured scales for types of rigging and electoral integrity developed here would be useful for future studies in the field of electoral integrity in democratic countries.

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