Quetta: The recent general election results in Pakistan's NA-262 Quetta-I constituency have drawn attention to the implications of the country's First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system. In the 2024 General Election, the elected Member of the National Assembly (MNA) managed to win the seat with just 26% of the votes cast, which translates to only 8% of the total registered voters in the constituency.

According to Free and Fair Election Network, the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) indicates a voter turnout of 33% on February 8, 2024. Despite the win, the elected MNA did not receive the majority of votes from those who participated, with 73% of voters supporting other candidates. The runner-up garnered 16% of the votes, and the third-placed candidate received 11%, while the rest of the candidates collectively accounted for 45% of the votes. Furthermore, 2% of the votes were declared invalid.

This election outcome is part of a broader analysis by FAFEN on electoral representativeness across Pakistan's 266 National Assembly constituencies. The study highlights that under the FPTP system, a candidate can win a seat without majority support, in contrast to a proportional representation system, which would allocate seats based on the proportion of votes each party or candidate receives. This gap between votes cast and representation is observed across all constituencies, raising questions about the representational efficacy of the current electoral system in Pakistan.