True: 1.6 million votes were rejected in 2024 elections

Noted journalist Hamid Mir has shared a post on social media site X, formerly Twitter, claiming that 1.6 million votes rejected in general elections 2024.

He shared a clip of a journalist Sabook Syed on his vlog quoting a report by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) regarding the rejected votes.

PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah interjected and claimed the figures relating to the 2018 general elections. He also shared a report analysis of FAFEN to support his claim.

The claim that 1.6 million votes were rejected in the 2024 general elections is TRUE.

This was confirmed by the preliminary report released the independent monitor FAFEN regarding the general elections.

According to the FAFEN report, as many as 1.6 million ballots were excluded from the count by the Presiding Officers at polling stations in 235 NA constituencies.

This number is almost the same as that excluded during the 2018 General Elections, the reported added.

FAFEN analysis suggests that there are 25 NA constituencies where the number of ballots excluded from the count exceed the margin of victory – 23 in Punjab and one each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.

As many as 14 of these constituencies have been claimed by Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PMLN), five by Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and four by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independents and two other independents.

As many as four constituencies have reported more than 15,000 excluded ballots each. Another 21 constituencies have excluded 10,000 to 15,000 ballots.

It added that a large number of constituencies (137) fall in the category of excluded ballots reported in the range of 5,000 to 10,000.

A total of 67 constituencies have reported fewer than 5,000 but greater than 1,000 excluded ballots. Only six constituencies have reported fewer than 1,000 excluded ballots each.

The highest number of ballots excluded from the voter count have been reported from NA-59 Talagang-cum-Chakwal (24,547 ballots), followed by NA-213 Umerkot (17,571 ballots). The lowest number of ballots excluded are reported from NA236 Karachi East-II (51 ballots).

Link to Fafen premilimary report: https://fafen.org/fafen-preliminary-election-observation-report-of-general-election-2024/