During the General Elections 2024, the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-15 Mansehra-cum-Torghar was elected with 105,259 votes, which made up 43 percent of the 247,660 ballots cast, and only 16 percent of the 645,049 registered voters in the constituency.

According to the Final Consolidated Result (Form-49) of the constituency, the voter turnout stood at 38 percent. The runner-up candidate secured 32 percent of the ballots cast, the third-placed candidate received 12 percent, while the remaining 12 candidates collectively secured nine percent votes.

Despite the victory, the winner did not have the support of the majority of voters who exercised their right to vote on February 8, 2024, as 133,297 or 54 percent of them voted for other candidates, indicating they did not want the winner to represent them. As many as 9,104 ballots (three percent) were declared invalid, meaning they were discarded and did not go to any candidate.

This story is part of FAFEN’s constituency-wise analysis on the unrepresentativeness of Pakistan’s electoral outcomes. The series highlights how the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system can skew representation in multi-candidate electoral contests of Pakistan, where three or more contenders are common. In such contests, a majority of voters may feel unrepresented and raise questions about the legitimacy, which may potentially contribute to political instability.

Stay tuned to the FAFEN website to read the story of your constituency.

Explore more stories from the series here.