The gap between registered male and female voters has in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province recorded a slight decrease as compared to General Elections 2024 (GE-2024), declining from more than 1.96 million in February 2024 to approximately 1.94 million in February 2026.
Read more on national gender gap in voter registration
The latest voter registration statistics released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) show that the province now has roughly 23.24 million registered voters, comprising approximately 12.59 million male voters and 10.65 million female voters.
In comparison, at the time of GE-2024, the total number of registered voters was approximately 21.92 million, comprising about 11.94 million male voters and 9.98 million female voters.
In percentage terms, the gender gap stood at around 8.9 percent in February 2024. It has since narrowed to approximately 8.4 percent. While this reduction indicates comparatively faster growth in female voter registration over the past two years, the continued presence of a gap of this magnitude underscores the need for sustained measures to promote inclusive electoral participation.
Read more on gender gap among Punjab voters
What does the Elections Act say on gender gap?
Section 47(1) of the Elections Act, 2017 requires the Election Commission to annually publish disaggregated data of registered male and female voters in each constituency and highlight the difference in their numbers.
Under Section 47(2), the Commission is required to take special measures in constituencies where the difference between registered male and female voters exceeds 10 percent. These measures include steps to expedite the issuance of National Identity Cards for women in the concerned constituencies.
