Karachi: In the recently concluded General Elections of 2024, the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-247 Karachi Central-I won the seat with just 15% of the registered voter's support. The elected representative secured 65,050 votes, which accounts for 34% of the 190,115 ballots cast, but only a fraction of the 436,934 registered voters in the constituency.

According to Free and Fair Election Network, the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) showed a voter turnout of 44% in the constituency. Despite securing a victory, the MNA did not gain the backing of the majority of the voters who participated in the election on February 8, 2024, as 121,903 voters, or 64%, cast their votes for other candidates.

The runner-up candidate garnered 27% of the ballots cast, while the candidate in third place received 13%. The remaining candidates collectively accounted for 24% of the votes, and 3,162 ballots, or 2%, were declared invalid. This analysis is part of FAFEN's broader examination of electoral representativeness across Pakistan's 266 National Assembly constituencies.

FAFEN's data highlight the implications of Pakistan's First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system, where candidates win seats without necessarily commanding a majority of votes. In contrast, a proportional representation system would allocate seats based on vote shares, potentially offering a more comprehensive reflection of voter preferences. The GE-2024 data from Pakistan underscore the gap between votes cast and representation secured in the National Assembly constituencies.