FAFEN highlights 'many firsts' of Feb 8 polls

In the general elections held on February 8 of this year, as many as 61,282,920 Pakistanis cast their votes, the highest ever number of voters turning out to vote in any general elections in the country's history.

However, despite this the turnout at the general elections dropped to 48 percent, as compared to 52 percent in 2018 as there was an unprecedented increase of 22.5 million voters in electoral rolls between the two elections.

The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Sunday released a detailed analysis of voters' participation in the General Election 2024 (GE-2024) as part of its celebration of National Voters Day.

The report, titled "GE-2024: Brief on Assessing Demographic and Gender Turnout Dynamics," provides an in-depth review of voter trends, including male and female participation, and draws comparisons with the previous general elections.

According to the report, among many other firsts, the general elections saw the registration of women voters surpassing that of men between 2018 and 2024.

"Among 22.5 million new voters, 12.5 million were women and 10 million men. This has led to narrowing down the gender gap on voter registration," it noted.

Although the women's turnout remained lower (42.7 percent) than men's turnout (51.8 percent), the gap between their turnouts narrowed from 10 percentage points in the General Elections 2018 to nine percentage points in the General Elections 2024.

The report also highlighted a considerably higher voter turnout in predominantly rural constituencies (50.1 percent) as compared to largely urban constituencies (43.8 percent). Nearly twice as many voters from rural areas (40.6 million) cast their ballots compared to urban areas (20.5 million).

Over the past decade, Pakistan has experienced a substantial increase in the number of registered voters, witnessing an additional 42.3 million individuals added to the electoral roll since General Elections 2013.

Female voter registration continues to lag its proportion in the population. Since its adoption in 2017, Section 47 of the Elections Act, which calls for special measures for women's registration in constituencies with a gender gap exceeding 10 percent, led to dedicated efforts, resulting in a significant increase in female voter registration. This has yielded a substantial reduction in the gender gap, from 11.8 percent in 2018 to 7.7 percent in 2024.

Reiterating its commitment to contributing to a more inclusive and participatory electoral process, FAFEN stresses the need for continuation of efforts to include all eligible voters, specifically women and those belonging to marginalized sections of society, and voter education and mobilization efforts directed towards areas reporting lower voter turnout.

Analyzing voter turnout is essential for assessing the legitimacy and inclusivity of elections, as it reflects public engagement and confidence in the democratic process. Low turnout can indicate voter apathy, mistrust, barriers to participation, or a combination of these.