Number of registered voters in Pakistan increases by 22 million to 127 million

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday released nationwide voter data from 2018 to 2023, which show that the total number of registered voters in the country increased from 105.95 million (105,955,409) in 2018 to nearly 127 million (126,980,272) in 2023, according to calculations done in July this year.

The number of male voters is over 68.50 million (68,508,258), while female voters reached 58.47 million (58,472,014) in 2023.

With respect to numbers in the country’s major urban centres, the number of voters in Islamabad has witnessed a hike from 765,447 in 2018 to over 1.04 million (1,041,554) this year, according to the data released by the electoral body.

The total number of voters in Punjab reached 72.3 million (72,310,582) this year, while the number was 60.6 million (60,672,771) in 2018.

In Sindh, the number has seen an increase from 22.3 million (22,391, 244) in 2018 to 26.6 million (26,651,161) in 2023.

In 2018, the number of voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the then-Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) was 10.53 million (15,314,659) and 2.5 million (2,512,284), respectively. It has now increased to 20.169 million (21,692,381) in 2023.

The number in Balochistan has reached 5.28 million (5,284,594) in 2023, from the 4.29 million (4,299,494) voters in 2018.

Earlier this month, the electoral body announced finalising the delimitation process by November 30.

In a statement, the electoral body said the purpose of squeezing the duration of the delimitation process is to ensure elections are held as early as possible.

The ECP also said that a date for the elections will also be announced keeping in view the schedule for the delimitation process, adding that the date was announced after deliberation with the parties. 

Election Commission said that polls would be held by mid-February at the most or by January end if the delimitation of constituencies is completed earlier.

The ECP, on August 17, announced that the delimitation would be carried out as per the new census approved by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) last month.