The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has released a report on electoral representation in Pakistan from 2002 to 2024.

According to the FAFEN report, Pakistan’s election results have shown no significant improvement over the past two decades.

The national and provincial assemblies continue to be elected with the mandate of less than a quarter of registered voters and only half of the cast votes.

The report highlights that the representation gap has persisted across five general elections.

The 2002 National Assembly was backed by only 20 per cent of registered voters and 47 per cent of the votes cast.

Also, read this

FAFEN proposes audit of each constituency before notification

General election turnout fell across Pakistan, new report reveals

ECP denies Fafen’s concerns over preliminary delimitation

In 2008, the elected assembly had the support of 22 per cent of registered voters and 50 per cent of cast votes.

The 2013 elections saw a slight increase, with the National Assembly representing 26 per cent of registered voters and 48 per cent of the votes cast.

However, the trend declined again in 2018 and 2024, with the elected assemblies securing the backing of only 22 per cent and 21 per cent of registered voters, respectively.

In the 2024 general elections, no candidate in the 265 National Assembly constituencies secured a majority of registered voters support.

Nearly three-quarters of the constituencies, around 202 in total, saw winning candidates backed by less than 25 per cent of registered voters.

In only 63 constituencies did the winning candidates receive support from 25 to 50 per cent of registered voters.

In terms of the votes cast, just 69 constituencies had successful candidates securing over 50 per cent, while in 196 constituencies, the winners received less than half of the total votes polled.

The situation in the provincial assemblies was even more concerning, with only two constituencies producing winning candidates who secured over 50 per cent of registered voters’ support.

In 499 out of 501 provincial constituencies, the victorious candidates had the backing of less than 25 per cent of registered voters.

Additionally, only 107 provincial constituencies had winners securing more than half of the total votes cast.

FAFEN emphasised that Pakistan’s First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system is exacerbating the crisis, as candidates can win seats simply by securing the highest number of votes, even without majority support.

The report urged Parliament to reassess the FPTP system and consider electoral reforms that would ensure broader voter participation and more representative election outcomes.