During the General Elections 2024, the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-20 Swabi-II was elected with 123,828, which made up 56 percent of the 222,594 ballots cast, but only 22 percent of the 557,799 registered voters in the constituency.
According to the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) of the constituency, the voter turnout stood at 40 percent. The runner-up candidate secured 22 percent of the ballots cast; the third-placed candidate received nine percent, while the remaining candidates collectively secured 10 percent votes.
NA-20 was among 70 out of 265 National Assembly constituencies where the winner could secure a majority of the polled votes. However, the share of the winner’s votes among registered voters remained small. Around 41 percent of the voters did not vote for the winner, while almost four percent of ballots 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.
