The TV election: A breakdown of how political parties advertised on the airwaves

The television has played an increasingly important role in political campaigns. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID

ISLAMABAD: Last year’s elections in Pakistan were groundbreaking for many reasons, with the heavy use of media, both new and traditional, being one of them.

In all, 62,623 television commercials ran during the election campaign in 2013, according to government figures released during question hour at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

That number hardly compares to the number of advertisements aired in the United States during its presidential campaign in 2012 - 1,015,615 - but it does indicate the increasing importance television has had in the way political campaigns are fought and won.

In 2009 alone, more than 86 million people in Pakistan watched television, according to Gallup Pakistan. That number must have only increased by the time voters went to the polls in 2013.

Even though the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lost heavily, it tops the list with 26,237 ads alone, more than a third of all the ads aired. The volume of ads can partially be explained by PPP’s last-ditch attempts to salvage their number of seats.

Despite ruling Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and being a member of the ruling coalition, the Awami National Party (ANP) aired only 31 ads.

Both ANP and the PPP were targeted by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the build up to the general elections. ANP pulled out of many electoral races and districts where the Taliban threat was acute. It severely limited their campaigning ability, as evidenced by a dearth in television advertisements.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, that campaigned heavily on social media, is second on the list with 16,363 ads. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the current ruling government, was third with 12,521 ads.