Polling underway for NA-168 by-election in Bahawalpur

Polling for the by-election in Bahawalpur's National Assembly constituency NA-168 is being held on Sunday, September 27, with voting scheduled from 8 AM to 5 PM without a break.

The main contest is between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Munir Iqbal Channar and independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema. There are 18 other candidates also contesting the election.

Munir Iqbal Channar is the son of the late MNA Malik Iqbal Channar, whose death vacated the seat. He is also being supported by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema is supported by his father, MNA Tariq Bashir Cheema.

According to election data, there are 483,143 registered voters, comprising 248,529 men and 234,614 women. A total of 896 polling booths have been set up across 292 polling stations.

The federal government has deployed the army under Articles 220 and 245 of the Constitution, while the Rangers' deployment falls under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, according to the Ministry of Interior. The security forces will assist the Election Commission with general security duties, with Rangers forming the second tier and the army serving in a third-tier Quick Reaction Force (QRF) capacity.