Determinants of Turnout in Elections: A Case Study of 2008 General Elections in District Charsadda

In electoral studies understanding of voting behaviour at national level carry its own value, but there is a need to study the political behaviour at the micro level also. Turnout in elections is considered to be the measurement of the level of democratization. Pakistan being a third world country usually do not have good turnout in elections. Turnout in election is determined by various factors ranging from personal and group leverages to structural arrangements for the process of participation of the people in the election. The study is conducted in a rural region of Pakistan in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa not only to obtain the voters' opinion but an effort is made to analyse the data in the existing socio economic and political conditions. It is hoped that the study will add to the existing scarce literature available in Pakistan on voting behaviour of people and their political participation.