KARACHI: In the recent General Elections of 2024, the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-249 Karachi Central-III managed to secure a seat with only 14% of the registered voters' support, raising concerns about the effectiveness of Pakistan's First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system. The elected representative obtained 77,529 votes, translating to 38% of the 203,169 ballots cast in the constituency, which has a total of 554,641 registered voters.

According to the Free and Fair Election Network, the final consolidated result, detailed in Form-49, indicates a voter turnout of 37%. Despite emerging victorious, the MNA did not receive the majority support from those who cast their votes on February 8, 2024, as 60% of the voters favored other candidates. The runner-up garnered 25% of the votes, the third-placed candidate received 13%, and the remaining candidates together captured 22%. Additionally, 1% of the votes were declared invalid.

This election outcome is part of a broader analysis by FAFEN on the representativeness of electoral processes across Pakistan's 266 National Assembly constituencies. Under the FPTP system, a candidate wins by having the most votes, not necessarily a majority, which can result in elected officials who do not have widespread voter support. In contrast, a proportional representation system would allocate seats based on vote shares, reflecting a wider array of voter preferences. The data from Pakistan's GE-2024 underscore the discrepancy between the votes cast and the representation achieved in the National Assembly.