As many as 92 proposed provincial constituencies deviate by more than 10 per cent from their respective provincial average population constitution and exceed the permissible variation range of 10 per cent as allowed by the law, a Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) report released on Tuesday said.
The most important aspect of ensuring equitable political representation was compromised on 26 seats in Balochistan, around 22 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), around 21 seats in Punjab, and 23 seats in Sindh.
The report further said that out of the total of 92 provincial assembly constituencies, 72 showed a variation rate between 11 per cent and 20 per cent, nine constituencies showed a variation between 21 per cent and 30 per cent, seven constituencies showed variation between 31 per cent and 40 per cent, three showed a variation between 41 per cent and 50 per cent. Meanwhile, in one Balochistan provincial constituency, the variation was noted to be higher than 50 per cent.
According to the FAFEN report, the average population per provincial assembly constituency in Balochistan was 242,054 citizens, while the average population per constituency in Punjab was 370,307 citizens.
It was also noted that districts did not fare well in connection with the population to PA seat ratio. Extreme variations were noted in the smallest and largest population-to-seat ratios of provincial assembly constituencies in all provinces.
The report recommended to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to give due consideration to its concerns on the deviation from the delimitation principle to ensure that all citizens exercised the right to equal representation in all parts of the country.
