While NA-245 Karachi West-II recorded Sindh’s highest gender gap in voter registration as a percentage of its total electorate at 15.70%, NA-242 Karachi Keamari-I had the largest absolute gap — with 71,513 fewer women registered than men. The two constituencies illustrate why the gender gap in voter registration must be read through both lenses: percentage and absolute count do not always point to the same place, and each measure reveals a different dimension of the same problem.
According to data released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a constituency with a smaller electorate can register a higher percentage gap even when the raw number of unregistered women is lower than in a larger constituency. NA-245 Karachi West-II, with a total electorate of 398,632, had a gender gap of 62,584 — smaller in absolute terms than Keamari-I’s 71,513, but larger as a share of its electorate. NA-242 Karachi Keamari-I, with 466,615 registered voters, had the greater absolute shortfall, yet its gap as a percentage of the total electorate stood at 15.33% — below the figure recorded in Karachi West-II. Both measures matter. The percentage gap triggers the legal obligations under the Elections Act, 2017. The absolute gap determines the scale of the problem on the ground.
NA-245 Karachi West-II: highest percentage gap in Sindh
ECP data show that NA-245 Karachi West-II had 230,608 registered male voters against 168,024 registered female voters as of 2026. Male voters constituted 58% of the registered electorate and female voters 42%. The gender gap of 62,584 — equivalent to 15.70% of the total electorate — was the highest recorded among all National Assembly constituencies in Sindh.
In 2024, the constituency recorded a gender gap of 65,221, equivalent to 17.38% of its then-total electorate of 375,285. By 2026, the gap had narrowed by 2,637 voters in absolute terms and by 1.68 percentage points. The constituency’s total registered electorate grew by 23,347 voters over this period, with male voters increasing by 10,355 and female voters by 12,992. The faster growth in female registrations accounts for the modest reduction in both the absolute and percentage gaps.
NA-242 Karachi Keamari-I: largest absolute gap in Sindh
NA-242 Karachi Keamari-I had 269,064 registered male voters and 197,551 registered female voters in 2026, for a total electorate of 466,615. The gender gap of 71,513 was the largest in absolute terms among all National Assembly constituencies in Sindh. As a percentage of the total electorate, the gap stood at 15.33% — also above the 10% legal threshold under the Elections Act, 2017, meaning both constituencies examined here carry full statutory obligations for remedial action.
In 2024, the gender gap in NA-242 Karachi Keamari-I stood at 74,556 — equivalent to 17.03% of its then-total electorate of 437,790. By 2026, the gap had narrowed by 3,043 voters in absolute terms and by 1.70 percentage points. The constituency’s total registered electorate grew by 28,825 voters between 2024 and 2026, with male voters increasing by 12,891 and female voters by 15,934. The faster growth in female registrations drove the reduction in the absolute gap. Even so, at 71,513, the shortfall remains the largest in Sindh — a reminder that percentage improvement and ground-level progress are not always the same thing.
What the Elections Act requires
The continued presence of a gap of this nature underscores the need for sustained institutional action. Section 47(1) of the Elections Act, 2017 requires the ECP to annually publish disaggregated data of registered male and female voters in each constituency and to highlight the difference in their numbers. Under Section 47(2), the Commission must take special measures in any constituency where this difference exceeds 10 percent, including measures to reduce this variation. Section 47(3) further specifies that these measures shall include action by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to expedite National Identity Card (NIC) issuance for women in affected constituencies, and by the ECP to enrol them as voters in the relevant electoral area. This provision places a clear, joint institutional responsibility on both NADRA and the ECP to address the gender gap where it crosses the legal threshold.
These measures include targeted voter registration campaigns, NIC facilitation drives, and community-level outreach to address the barriers that continue to limit women’s registration. Consistent implementation of these provisions is critical to ensuring that the downward trend in the gender gap is sustained and accelerated in the electoral rolls ahead of the next general elections.
