NA-58 Chakwal recorded Punjab’s lowest gender gap in voter registration as a percentage of its total electorate at 0.58%, while NA-126 Lahore-X had the smallest absolute gap — with only 3,413 fewer women registered than men. The two constituencies also hold the distinction of recording the lowest gender gaps among all National Assembly constituencies across Pakistan. As with the higher-gap constituencies, the two measures do not point to the same place, and each reveals a different dimension of how close a constituency has come to electoral gender parity.
According to data released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a constituency with a larger electorate can record a lower percentage gap even when its absolute shortfall is slightly higher than a smaller constituency. NA-58 Chakwal, with a total electorate of 614,070, had a gender gap of 3,560 — marginally higher in absolute terms than Lahore-X’s 3,413, but smaller as a share of its electorate. NA-126 Lahore-X, with 384,673 registered voters, had the smaller absolute shortfall yet a slightly higher percentage gap of 0.89%. Both constituencies are well below the 10% threshold that triggers statutory obligations under the Elections Act, 2017.
NA-58 Chakwal: lowest percentage gap in Punjab and Pakistan
ECP data show that NA-58 Chakwal had 308,815 registered male voters against 305,255 registered female voters as of 2026, for a total registered electorate of 614,070. Male and female voters each constituted 50% of the registered electorate. The gender gap of 3,560 — equivalent to 0.58% of the total electorate — was the lowest recorded among all National Assembly constituencies in Punjab and in Pakistan.
In 2024, the constituency recorded a gender gap of 6,805, equivalent to 1.15% of its then-total electorate of 594,009. By 2026, the gap had narrowed by 3,245 voters in absolute terms and by 0.57 percentage points — a substantial reduction relative to the gap’s starting size. The constituency’s total registered electorate grew by 20,061 voters over this period, with male voters increasing by 8,408 and female voters by 11,653. The considerably faster growth in female registrations drove the gap to near parity.
NA-126 Lahore-X: smallest absolute gap in Punjab and Pakistan
NA-126 Lahore-X had 194,043 registered male voters and 190,630 registered female voters in 2026, for a total electorate of 384,673. The gender gap of 3,413 was the smallest in absolute terms among all National Assembly constituencies in Punjab and in Pakistan. As a percentage of the total electorate, the gap stood at 0.89%.
In 2024, the gender gap in NA-126 Lahore-X stood at 7,018 — equivalent to 2.01% of its then-total electorate of 349,636. By 2026, the gap had narrowed by 3,605 voters in absolute terms and by 1.12 percentage points. The constituency’s total registered electorate grew by 35,037 voters between 2024 and 2026, with male voters increasing by 15,716 and female voters by 19,321. The faster growth in female registrations halved the absolute gap in two years, bringing the constituency to the threshold of electoral gender parity.
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.
