Women voting choices differed from men in 18pc communities during GE-2024

ISLAMABAD: Women voters in 18 percent communities in the jurisdiction of male and female polling stations voted differently from their men counterparts in National Assembly constituencies during General Elections (GE) 2024, according to a report published by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) released here on Sunday.

The report on Women Voting Choices compares the results of male and female polling stations in the same communities finds that in 82 percent of the communities, male and female voters’ choice of winner was aligned as they returned the same winner from their respective polling stations.

The report read that since election results of combined polling stations do not provide a gender-wise breakdown of how male and female voters’ vote, FAFEN’s assessment could only compare the results of male and female polling stations. Furthermore, it has limited its scope to male and female polling stations where men and women from the same electoral areas voted. The assessment includes 21,188 communities comprising 42,804 comparable male and female polling stations.

In 18 percent of the communities, male and female voters diverged in their choice of winner as they returned different winners from their respective polling stations. Compared to rural areas, communities in urban areas showed more divergent choices among male and female voters.

Read More: FAFEN releases report on general elections 2024

Among regions, Islamabad had the highest proportion (37%) of electoral communities with different winners in male and female polling stations. Balochistan had the second-highest proportion (32%) followed by Sindh (19%) and Punjab (18%), while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had the lowest proportion (13%) of such electoral communities.

Of the 3,884 communities where women’s choice of winner for National Assembly seats was different, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won more support from women in 1,260 communities, followed by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) in 1,027 and Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) in 694 communities. Regional trends showed that while PTI performed well across the country in terms of women voters’ choice, PML-N remained strong in Punjab, and PPPP dominated in Sindh.

As per the report, in 37 NA constituencies, the largest proportion of voters in female polling stations did not vote for the winning candidates. In 226 NA constituencies, the largest proportion of voters in female polling stations voted for the constituency winner. In 166 of those NA constituencies, compared to voters in male polling stations, a larger proportion of voters in female polling stations polled for the winner.

The FAFEN report added that in seven constituencies – NA-43 Tank-cum-Dera Ismail Khan, NA-49 Attock-I, NA-55 Rawalpindi-IV, NA-87 Khushab-I, NA-94 Chiniot-II, NA-128 Lahore-XII and NA-163 Bahawalnagar-IV –, the lead at female polling stations determined the winner. For example, in NA-43 Tank-cum-Dera Ismail Khan, PTI narrowly won edging out Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUIF) by 555 votes. PTI-supported candidate garnered a lead of 1,430 votes at female polling stations alone, a margin that decisively affected the overall outcome.