The newly elected Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-116 Sheikhupura-IV secured the seat in the 2024 General Elections with the backing of less than a quarter of the constituency”s registered electorate, an analysis of official results has revealed.
Free and Fair Election Network reported today that the victor’s 135,129 votes account for just 23 percent of the 582,565 citizens eligible to vote.
According to the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49), the winner’s vote tally constituted 45 percent of the 300,618 valid ballots cast on February 8. This indicates that a majority of those who participated in the election-158,604 people or 53 percent-voted for other contenders, effectively rejecting the winning candidate.
The voter turnout in the constituency stood at 52 percent. A detailed breakdown of the results shows the runner-up candidate secured 30 percent of the ballots cast, while the third-placed contender received 14 percent. The remaining candidates collectively obtained eight percent of the votes. Furthermore, 6,885 ballots, or two percent of the total, were declared invalid and did not contribute to any candidate”s total.
This data is part of a constituency-wise report by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), which examines the unrepresentativeness of Pakistan’s electoral outcomes. The findings from NA-116 underscore how the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system can produce skewed results.
The FAFEN analysis suggests that in multi-candidate contests, which are common in Pakistan, the FPTP method can result in winners who do not command majority support. This can lead to a significant portion of the electorate feeling unrepresented, raising questions about political legitimacy and potentially contributing to instability.