ISLAMABAD: National Assembly’s seat in Sindh — NA-214 Tharparkar — recorded highest voter turnout of almost 80 percent, whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s NA-42 South Waziristan recorded lowest voter turnout of over 16 percent in the recent general polls, electoral data suggested.

Pir Amir Ali Shah Jillani from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won the general election from NA-214 Tharparkar-I by securing 129,992 votes.

Abdul Razzaq from Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) was the runner-up on this seat having secured 60,245 votes.

Independent candidate Zubair Khan Wazir, backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was the winner from NA-42 South Waziristan, followed by another independent Ali Wazir, who got 16,194 votes.

According to a report from Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), among 264 NA constituencies, the highest voter turnout was 70.9 percent recorded in NA-214 Tharparkar-I while the lowest voter turnout was 16.3 percent in NA-42 South Waziristan.

Nearly 97 percent constituencies of Punjab, 70 percent of Sindh, 56 percent of Balochistan and 41 percent of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded above 40 percent voter turnout, the report stated.

Overall, 13 NA constituencies recorded voter turnout above 60 percent including nine constituencies in Punjab, two in Sindh, and one in KP and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) each.

The key findings of the report suggested: As many as 103 constituencies had a turnout between 50.1 percent and 60 percent including 87 in Punjab, eight in Sindh, four in Balochistan, three in KP and one in ICT. As many as 93 constituencies had a turnout between 40.1 percent and 50 percent with 40 such constituencies in Punjab, 33 in Sindh, 14 in KP, five in Balochistan and one in ICT. As many as 45 constituencies had a voter turnout between 30.1 percent and 40 percent including 21 in KP, 16 in Sindh, four in Balochistan and four in Punjab. The remaining 10 constituencies had a turnout below 30 percent and included five in KP, three in Balochistan and two in Sindh.

Overall, the report stated, as many as 60.6 million voters exercised their right to vote in Pakistan’s 12th general polls. Nearly 5.8 million more people voted in February 8 polls as compared to 2018 when 54.8 million had cast their votes.

Despite the increase in the absolute number of voters, the turnout dipped from 52.1 percent in 2018 to 47.6 percent in 2024, primarily due to an increase in the number of registered voters from 106 million in 2018 to 128.6 million in 2024 following a record addition of 22.6 million between the two elections, according to FAFEN.

In addition, the harsh winter in parts of the country, fears of violence and terrorism in KP and Balochistan as well as uncertainty about the conduct of elections may have also adversely affected the turnout, the report noted.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024