Hyderabad: In the General Elections of 2024, the elected Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-218 Hyderabad-I secured 108,598 votes—78% of the 138,445 ballots cast, but only 32% of the 338,955 registered voters in the constituency. Under Pakistan's First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system, a candidate needs only the highest vote share to win a seat, not a majority.

According to Free and Fair Election Network's (FAFEN) analysis, the voter turnout in NA-218 stood at 41 percent. This constituency was among 70 out of 266 National Assembly constituencies where the winner could secure 50% or more of the polled votes. A significant number of voters, 24,805, or 18%, did not vote for the winner. Additionally, the winner's share among the total registered voters remained only 32%.

The runner-up candidate managed to secure 6% of the ballots cast, while the third-placed candidate received 4%. The remaining candidates collectively secured 8% of the votes cast, and a total of 5,042 ballots, or 4%, were declared invalid.

This analysis is part of FAFEN's examination of electoral representativeness across Pakistan's 266 National Assembly constituencies. Under the FPTP system, the candidate with the highest vote total wins the seat regardless of whether they command a majority of votes cast. FAFEN's data highlight that this leads to elected members who, in many constituencies, do not carry majority support. Under a proportional representation (PR) system, by contrast, legislative seats are allocated in proportion to the vote shares won by parties or candidates, ensuring a broader range of voter preferences is reflected in elected bodies. The data from Pakistan's GE-2024 election illustrate the gap between votes cast and representation secured across all 266 constituencies.