A new report released by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Sunday highlights a significant gender-based divergence in voting patterns across communities in the 2024 general election.

The survey found that in 18% of communities, female voters chose different candidates than their male counterparts in National Assembly constituencies, despite voting in male and female constituencies within the same jurisdictions.

FAFEN’s report, which compares results from 42,804 male and female polling stations across 21,188 communities, shows that in most areas – 82% – male and female voters chose the same candidate.

However, the report also reveals regional and urban-rural disparities in voter preferences, with urban areas showing more disparities in choice compared to rural areas.

Among the regions, Islamabad had the highest proportion of constituencies where male and female voters disagreed on the winning candidate, with 37% of constituencies showing a discrepancy.

Balochistan followed with 32%, while Sindh and Punjab had 19% and 18% respectively. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa recorded the lowest at 13%.

The report also sheds light on party-specific trends: in the 3,884 communities where women’s votes differed from men’s, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gained more support from women in 1,260 communities, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) ) in 1,027 communities and the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) in 694.

Regionally, the PTI found strong support from women across the country, the PML-N remained dominant in Punjab and the PPPP enjoyed significant support in Sindh.

In terms of constituency results, women’s electoral preferences were decisive in 37 constituencies where the largest proportion of female voters did not support the winning candidate.

In contrast, women voters in 226 constituencies overwhelmingly supported the victorious candidate. Notably, in seven constituencies – such as NA-43 Tank-cum-Dera Ismail Khan and NA-49 Attock-I – women’s votes decided the election outcome, with PTI benefiting from significant leads in women constituencies.