Equality of vote compromised in 92 provincial constituencies, reveals FAFEN report

KARACHI: As many as 92 proposed provincial constituencies deviate by more than 10% from their respective provincial average population constituency; exceeding the ordinarily permissible variation range of 10% established by the law, says FAFEN report released on Tuesday.

A key principle for ensuring equitable political representation is compromised in 26 seats in Balochistan, 22 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 21 seats in Punjab, and 23 seats in Sindh.

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The report further said that of 92 PA constituencies, 72 constituencies have been suggested with a variation rate between 11% and 20%, nine constituencies have variation between 21% and 30%, seven constituencies have a higher degree of variation between 31% and 40%, three constituencies have a variation between 41% and 50% while in case of one Balochistan PA constituency, this variation is exorbitantly higher than 50%.

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“The average population per PA constituency in Balochistan is 242,054 citizens, while the average population per constituency in Punjab is 370,307 citizens. Similarly, within the provinces, districts do not fare equal with regards to population to PA seats ratio. Wide variation has been noted in the smallest and largest population-to-seat ratios of PA constituencies in all provinces. For instance, PB-17 Jhall Magsi in Balochistan represents 149,225 citizens, while the population size of PB-24 Killa Abdullah-III is almost three times more than PB-17 i.e. 407,323 citizens. This is a serious violation of the principle of equality of vote, since the voting power of a citizen in PB-24 is effectively three times less than half the voting power of his/her counterpart in PB-17,” the FAFEN report said.

FAFEN recommended the Election Commission of Pakistan to take its concern over the deviation from the delimitation principle seriously in view of ensuring the citizen’s right to equal representation is respected throughout the country.