Only 35 percent of registered voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s by-election, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFN) said in a report on Monday.
The report stated that the voter turnout was low compared to the General Election (GE) 2018.
In GE-2018, male turnout decreased from 57.3% to 39.5% in the by-elections, while female turnout decreased from 45% to 29.7%.
“With only 35 percent of registered voters turning out on election day, the constituencies remained peaceful with scattered incidents of irregularities,” FAFEN said in the report.
The election watchdog said the highest voter turnout was recorded in PP-209 Khanewal-VII and the lowest at 14.8% in NA-239 Korangi Karachi-I.
“The lowest female turnout was 10.4 per cent, recorded in NA-31 Peshawar-V, prompting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to review the reasons as per Section 9 of the Elections Act, 2017. I felt the need.”
The election observer said that in as many as four constituencies the women’s turnout was less than 20% while in one the men’s turnout was less than 20%.
Fafan said voter turnout was “particularly exceptional” in two Karachi constituencies NA-239 Korangi Karachi I and NA-237 Malir II where a total of 17.6 percent of registered voters exercised their franchise while There was a 27.4 percent turnout. 44.8 percent in three constituencies of KP and six constituencies of Punjab.
The report highlighted that out of a total of 118 candidates contesting these by-elections, only three were women, reinforcing the need for political parties to reach out to other marginalized sections of the population for their political education and emancipation.
Fafan said scattered irregularities were observed during the by-elections, including the presence of unauthorized persons inside polling stations, and potentially compromising the efficacy of the electoral process. Campaigning and canvassing inside and outside polling stations, an anomaly that has persisted during recent by-elections. and large polling stations that could potentially lead to overcrowding and random polling.
