Larkana: In the recent General Election of 2024, the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) elected from NA-194 Larkana-I secured 136,167 votes, representing 72% of the 188,858 ballots cast. However, this figure constitutes only 31% of the 438,208 registered voters in the constituency. Under Pakistan’s First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system, a candidate is required to have the highest vote share to win a seat, not necessarily a majority of the total votes.

According to the Free and Fair Election Network, the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) indicates that the voter turnout in NA-194 was 43%. The constituency was among 70 out of 266 National Assembly constituencies where the winner secured 50% or more of the polled votes. Yet, 45,757 voters, or 24%, did not vote for the winner. The winner’s vote share among the total registered voters was limited to 31%.

The runner-up candidate received 19% of the ballots cast, while the third-placed candidate obtained 3%. The remaining candidates together secured 3% of the votes cast, and 6,934 votes, or 4%, were declared invalid.

This analysis is part of FAFEN’s constituency-wise review of electoral representativeness across Pakistan’s 266 National Assembly constituencies. Under the FPTP system, the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether a majority supports them. FAFEN’s data highlights instances where elected members do not have majority support. In contrast, a proportional representation system would allocate legislative seats in line with the vote shares, ensuring a broader reflection of voter preferences in elected bodies. The data from Pakistan’s GE-2024 illustrates the gap between votes cast and the representation secured across all National Assembly constituencies.