Karachi: In the recent general elections of 2024, the elected Member of the National Assembly from Karachi's NA-236 East-II secured a notable victory with 38,871 votes, representing just 29% of the 135,215 ballots cast and a mere 7% of the total 542,409 registered voters in the constituency. The election results highlight the dynamics of Pakistan's First-Past-The-Post electoral system, where a candidate's victory is determined by achieving the highest vote count rather than a majority.

According to Free and Fair Election Network, the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) of the constituency reported a voter turnout of 25%. Despite the success, the winning candidate did not command the majority support of voters, as 71% of those who participated in the election on February 8, 2024, opted for other candidates. The runner-up garnered 24% of the votes, while the third-place contender received 16%, with the remaining candidates sharing 32% of the ballots. Notably, 51 votes were declared invalid.

This analysis is part of FAFEN's broader examination of electoral representativeness across Pakistan's 266 National Assembly constituencies. The study underscores how the First-Past-The-Post system often results in elected officials lacking majority support, contrasting with a proportional representation system that might better capture the diversity of voter preferences by allocating legislative seats in accordance with vote shares. The data from Pakistan's GE-2024 elections reveal a significant gap between the votes cast and the actual representation achieved in the National Assembly.