A Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis of the 2024 Pakistani Election Manifestos

Abstract

Manifestos are important for the public as they convey the perspectives and unique
preferences of politicians. The present study aims to investigate how Pakistani politicians use
election manifestos as manipulative tools to control the public cognitively. Adopting a mixed
method approach, we utilized a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis approach to
critically examine the manifestos of major Pakistani political parties (PPP, PML-N, and PTI)
published in "The Dawn" newspaper during the 2024 election. Using Sketch Engine, corpus
data were analyzed in terms of Keywords, concordance, and frequency. The analysis in the
light of Van Dijk‘s socio-cognitive model revealed that political leaders use manifestos
schematically to control public perception about essential issues and perpetuate their
discursive ideologies and false promises. Political parties strategically leverage gender and
religious issues to consolidate power and marginalize certain groups, using these topics not
for genuine reform but to gain voter support while failing to deliver substantive changes. This
study highlights the implications for future research on the enduring effects and comparative
analyses of political rhetoric across various contexts.