Summary Polling in the NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election has ended at 5pm, with vote counting underway after 20 candidates contested the National Assembly seat.
BAHAWALPUR (Dunya News) – Polling for the by-election in National Assembly constituency NA-168 Bahawalpur ended at 5pm on Sunday, with the counting of votes now underway.
Voting began at 8am and continued without a break throughout the scheduled polling hours. The Election Commission said voters who were already inside polling stations when polling officially closed would still be allowed to cast their ballots.
A total of 20 candidates contested the vacant National Assembly seat, with the main contest between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Malik Munir Iqbal Channar and independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema. The seat became vacant following the death of PML-N lawmaker Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar in August. Malik Munir Iqbal Channar, his son, was fielded by the PML-N, while Wali Dad Cheema, son of former federal minister Tariq Bashir Cheema, contested as an independent candidate.
According to election officials, 483,143 voters were registered in NA-168. The electorate comprised 248,529 men and 234,614 women. The constituency has a total population of 937,095.
Polling was conducted at 292 polling stations, comprising 130 for men, 130 for women and 32 combined stations. A total of 896 polling booths were established for voters, while election duties included 307 presiding officers and 941 polling and assistant presiding officers.
The Election Commission had declared 16 polling stations highly sensitive. More than 3,000 police personnel were deployed across the constituency for security during the electoral process, while personnel from the Pakistan Army and Rangers were kept available as reserve forces.
Security measures were strengthened ahead of polling following concerns surrounding the election campaign. On September 12, three people were injured in an armed clash at Baqirpur during an election rally linked to Wali Dad Cheema's campaign.
According to Rescue 1122 sources cited by media reports, the incident involved supporters of rival candidates, with some participants resorting to firing. The injured were subsequently attended to by rescue officials.
The Punjab Home Department had also sought the deployment of Pakistan Army and Punjab Rangers personnel to support the peaceful and secure conduct of the by-election.
