An analysis of the General Elections 2024 results for NA-104 Faisalabad-X revealed today that the elected Member of the National Assembly (MNA), despite securing a majority of the votes cast, holds a mandate from only a quarter of the constituency”s total registered electorate, raising questions about the representativeness of the electoral outcome.
According to a report by Free and Fair Election Network, the victorious candidate garnered 132,655 votes, which accounted for 51 per cent of the 262,304 ballots cast. However, this figure represents just 25 per cent of the 528,518 registered voters in the electoral district, according to the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) for the constituency.
Voter turnout in the area was recorded at 50 per cent. While NA-104 was one of only 70 out of 266 National Assembly constituencies where the winner managed to secure more than half of the polled votes, a significant portion of the electorate did not support the winning candidate.
A substantial 48 per cent of those who voted, amounting to 125,356 individuals, cast their ballots for other contenders. The runner-up secured 35 per cent of the votes, the third-placed candidate received six per cent, and the remaining candidates collectively obtained seven per cent. Additionally, 4,293 ballots, or two per cent of the total, were declared invalid.
This data is part of a constituency-wise analysis by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), which highlights potential weaknesses in the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system. The network”s report suggests that in multi-candidate contests, which are common in Pakistan, the system can skew representation.
FAFEN”s series posits that such outcomes can lead to a majority of voters feeling unrepresented, which can fuel questions about the legitimacy of the result and potentially contribute to political instability. The network stated that further analyses of other constituencies will be available on its website.