Faisalabad: During the General Elections 2024, the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-96 Faisalabad-II secured his position with 134,724 votes, representing 48 percent of the 281,118 ballots cast. This figure accounts for only 24 percent of the 562,891 registered voters in the constituency.

According to Free and Fair Election Network, the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) of the constituency showed a voter turnout of 50 percent. Despite winning, the MNA did not garner the support of the majority of voters who participated in the election on February 8, 2024. A total of 140,279 voters, or 50 percent, cast their ballots for other candidates, indicating they preferred someone else to represent them.

The election results revealed that the runner-up candidate obtained 33 percent of the votes, while the third-placed candidate received seven percent. The remaining candidates collectively gained 10 percent of the votes. Moreover, 6,115 ballots, or two percent of the total, were declared invalid, resulting in them not being attributed to any candidate.

This story is part of the Free and Fair Election Network’s constituency-wise analysis focusing on the unrepresentativeness of Pakistan’s electoral outcomes. The series examines how the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system can distort representation in multi-candidate electoral contests in Pakistan, where three or more contenders are common. In such scenarios, a majority of voters may feel unrepresented, potentially leading to questions about the legitimacy of the elected representatives and contributing to political instability.