Dera Ghazi Khan: In the recent general elections of 2024, the elected Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan-II garnered 94,927 votes, which accounted for 48% of the 198,658 ballots cast, representing only 24% of the 400,355 registered voters in the constituency. The election was conducted under Pakistan’s First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system, where a candidate does not need a majority but simply the highest number of votes to win.

According to Free and Fair Election Network, the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) for the constituency reported a voter turnout of 50%. Despite the MNA’s victory, a considerable portion of the constituency’s electorate, amounting to 45% or 89,712 voters, chose other candidates on February 8, 2024.

The second-place candidate in the race secured 20% of the votes cast, while the third-place finisher garnered 13%. The remaining candidates shared 12% of the votes, and 7% of the ballots, totaling 14,019, were declared invalid.

This report is part of the Free and Fair Election Network’s analysis of electoral representativeness in Pakistan’s 266 National Assembly constituencies. The findings highlight a recurring trend under the FPTP system, where elected members often lack the support of a majority of active voters. In contrast, a proportional representation system could ensure that a wider range of voter preferences is mirrored in the legislative assembly. The 2024 general election data underscores the discrepancy between votes cast and representation achieved across the National Assembly’s constituencies.