Polling concludes in Bahawalpur's NA-168 by-election
BAHAWALPUR: The voting process concluded peacefully on Sunday in the by-poll for Bahawalpur’s NA-168 constituency. A close contest was expected between PML-N’s Malik Munir Iqbal Channar and independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema. The seat fell vacant after the death of Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar in August, whose son was now the ruling party’s candidate. Polling began at 8am and concluded at 5pm.…
Voting concluded peacefully in Bahawalpur's NA-168 constituency on Sunday, concluding a close contest between PML-N's Malik Munir Iqbal Channar and independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema. The seat became vacant after Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar's death in August. Polling began at 8am and ended at 5pm, with voters allowed to continue voting beyond that time.
The Election Commission of Pakistan reported minimal disruptions, with one incident of a brawl at a polling station in Akhtarabad due to alleged harassment of election staff. This matter was swiftly resolved by the Provincial Election Commissioner Control Room and local authorities. Of the 483,143 registered voters, 248,259 were male and 234,614 were female.
Three presiding officers and 941 polling officers and assistants were deployed across 292 polling stations. Prior to the by-poll, the Punjab Home Department requested federal assistance, including army and Rangers, for the secure and peaceful conduct of the election. On September 12, three individuals were injured in an armed clash during Cheema's election rally in Baqirpur, following clashes between supporters of rival candidates.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
