Negotiating the Vote: Gender, Political Participation, and Electoral Preferences in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tribal Districts (2019).

This study examines voting behaviour in the context of a woman candidate contesting the 2019 elections in the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, with a focus on the PK-106 (Khyber-III) constituency. Drawing on original survey data and guided by a theoretical framework integrating party identification, patriarchal clientelism, and gender as an intervening variable, the study assesses the relative influence of gender, political affiliation, and socio-cultural structures on electoral preferences. The findings reveal that gender is not a decisive determinant of voting behaviour. Instead, party identification emerges as the most significant factor shaping vote choice, reflecting the growing institutionalisation of party-based politics in the region. At the same time, family influence, tribal affiliations, and socio-cultural practices, particularly those linked to kinship authority and community networks, play a critical role in mediating electoral decisions. The results further indicate that women’s voting behaviour is often shaped within patriarchal family structures, rather than as an independent or unified voting bloc. By demonstrating that gender operates indirectly through structural and relational constraints, the study challenges gender-centric explanations of electoral outcomes. This paper highlights the importance of embedded political and social dynamics and underscores the need to move beyond formal reforms to address the broader conditions that shape women’s political participation.