During the General Elections 2024, the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-12 Kohistan Upper-cum-Kohistan Lower-Cum-Kolai Pallas Kohistan was elected with 28,010 votes, which made up 27 percent of the 102,812 ballots cast, and only 14 percent of the 196,125 registered voters in the constituency.
According to the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) of the constituency, the voter turnout stood at 52 percent. The runner-up candidate secured 22 percent of the ballots cast, the third-placed candidate received 20 percent, while the remaining 11 candidates collectively secured 28 percent votes.
Despite the victory, the winner did not have the support of the majority of voters who exercised their right to vote on February 8, 2024, as 73,149 (71 percent) of them voted for other candidates, indicating they did not want the winner to represent them. As many as 1,653 ballots (two percent) were declared invalid, meaning they did not go to any candidate.
This story is part of FAFEN’s constituency-wise analysis on the unrepresentativeness of Pakistan’s electoral outcomes. The series highlights how the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system can skew representation in multi-candidate electoral contests of Pakistan, where three or more contenders are common. In such contests, a majority of voters may feel unrepresented and raise questions about the legitimacy, which may potentially contribute to political instability.
Stay tuned to the FAFEN website to read the story of your constituency.
Explore more stories from the series here.
