Karachi: In a striking demonstration of the implications of Pakistan's First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system, the elected Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Karachi's NA-238 constituency won with the support of just 10% of registered voters. During the General Elections of 2024, the MNA secured 54,885 votes, representing 32% of the 171,146 ballots cast. However, this figure translates to only 10% of the total 561,283 registered voters in the constituency.

According to Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), the voter turnout in the constituency was 30%. The MNA, despite emerging victorious, did not garner the majority support of those who voted on February 8, 2024, as 66% of the voters, numbering 113,120, cast their ballots for other candidates. The runner-up obtained 22% of the votes cast, while the third-place candidate received 21%. Other candidates combined secured 23% of the votes, and 2% of the ballots, totaling 3,141, 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 achieving a majority of votes cast. FAFEN's data highlights that this system often results in elected members lacking majority support in many constituencies. Conversely, a proportional representation system would allocate seats in accordance with the vote shares won by parties or candidates, potentially offering a more comprehensive reflection of voter preferences. The data from Pakistan's GE-2024 underscore the disparity between votes cast and the representation secured across all National Assembly constituencies.