While NA-255 Sohbatpur-cum-Jaffarabad-cum-Usta Mohammad-cum-Nasirabad recorded Balochistan’s lowest gender gap in voter registration as a percentage of its total electorate at 4.99%, NA-258 Panjgur-cum-Kech had the smallest absolute gap — with 21,100 fewer women registered than men. The divergence between the two measures again reflects a difference in electorate size: NA-255 Sohbatpur, with 569,181 registered voters, is more than twice the size of NA-258 Panjgur-cum-Kech, with 241,446. A larger absolute gap in a much larger constituency can still produce a lower percentage figure.
Both constituencies fall below the 10% threshold under the Elections Act, 2017, though NA-258 Panjgur-cum-Kech recorded 8.74% in 2026 — and crossed the threshold in 2024 at 10.25%, meaning it has only recently moved below the level that triggers statutory obligations.
NA-255 Sohbatpur-cum-Jaffarabad-cum-Usta Mohammad-cum-Nasirabad: lowest percentage gap in Balochistan
ECP data show that NA-255 Sohbatpur-cum-Jaffarabad-cum-Usta Mohammad-cum-Nasirabad had 298,784 registered male voters against 270,397 registered female voters as of 2026, for a total registered electorate of 569,181. Male voters constituted 52% of the registered electorate and female voters 48%. The gender gap of 28,387 — equivalent to 4.99% of the total electorate — was the lowest percentage gap recorded among all National Assembly constituencies in Balochistan.
In 2024, the constituency recorded a gender gap of 27,664, equivalent to 5.16% of its then-total electorate of 535,544. By 2026, the percentage gap had narrowed marginally by 0.17 percentage points. In absolute terms, however, the gap increased by 723 voters — from 27,664 to 28,387. The constituency’s total registered electorate grew by 33,637 voters between 2024 and 2026, with male voters increasing by 17,180 and female voters by 16,457. The slightly faster growth in male registrations accounts for the marginal widening of the absolute gap. As with Kohistan Upper in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a falling percentage figure alongside a rising absolute gap is a signal that registration efforts must sustain their focus on women even in constituencies that appear to be performing well.
NA-258 Panjgur-cum-Kech: smallest absolute gap in Balochistan
NA-258 Panjgur-cum-Kech had 131,273 registered male voters and 110,173 registered female voters in 2026, for a total electorate of 241,446. The gender gap of 21,100 was the smallest in absolute terms among all National Assembly constituencies in Balochistan. As a percentage of the total electorate, the gap stood at 8.74%.
In 2024, the gender gap stood at 23,078 — equivalent to 10.25% of its then-total electorate of 225,058. The constituency sat above the 10% statutory threshold in 2024, obligating the ECP and NADRA to take special measures. By 2026, the gap had narrowed by 1,978 voters in absolute terms and by 1.51 percentage points, bringing it just below the threshold. The constituency’s total registered electorate grew by 16,388 voters between 2024 and 2026, with male voters increasing by 7,205 and female voters by 9,183. The faster growth in female registrations drove the constituency below the legal threshold — a measurable improvement, though one that leaves the gap at 8.74% and within close range of the level that would reinstate statutory obligations.
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.
