The Aporia · Polling concludes in NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election

Polling concludes in NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election

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APA MLA Chicago

Gabol, I. (2026, September 27). Polling concludes in NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/2033024/polling-concludes-in-na-168-bahawalpur-by-election

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Quick Summary

Voting concluded peacefully on Sunday for the NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election, with a close race expected between PML-N candidate Malik Munir Iqbal Channar and independent Wali Dad Cheema. The constituency had 483,143 registered voters, including 248,259 men and 234,614 women across 292 polling stations. A brief disruption occurred at one station due to a voter brawl that was quickly resolved by authorities.

Written by AI on 2026-09-27, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election took place on September 27, with PML-N's Malik Munir Iqbal Channar facing independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema. The seat became vacant after the death of sitting MNA Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar in August. Voting began at 8 AM and ended at 5 PM, with extensions allowed for voters already present within polling station boundaries.

The election saw a mix of support dynamics, with PPP withdrawing its candidate to back Channar under a coalition agreement, while PTI decided not to participate due to current circumstances. The total electorate numbered 483,143 people, including 248,259 men and 234,614 women, spread across 292 polling stations.

Despite minor disruptions, such as a brawl in Akhtarabad that briefly halted voting, the process concluded largely peacefully. According to unofficial results, Channar secured 62,713 votes compared to Cheema's 31,293 votes, indicating PML-N’s likely retention of the seat.

Written for “Na-168 By-election Results” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

72/100

Dawn's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Politics

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-27 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

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Who wrote this

Imran Gabol

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🔮 Spokesperson for the Election Commission of Pakistan, Huda Gohar, told Dawn that voters present within the boundaries of the polling station will be allowed to cast their vote past 5pm as well.

2026-09-27 · assertive framing · Polling concludes in NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election

🔮 Polling began at 8am and is expected to conclude at 5pm.

2026-09-27 · assertive framing · Polling underway in NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election

🔮 On the other hand, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had said the party would not participate in any electoral process under the current circumstances.

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Topics

Akhtarabad BAHAWALPUR Dawn PML-N’s the Election Commission of Pakistan

Subjects

BAHAWALPUR GPE · 2× Cheema PERSON · 2× Akhtarabad GPE · 1× Dawn ORG · 1× Huda Gohar PERSON · 1× Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar PERSON · 1× Malik Munir Iqbal Channar PERSON · 1× PML-N’s ORG · 1× Wali Dad Cheema PERSON · 1× the Election Commission of Pakistan ORG · 1×

Narrative

The Provincial Election Commissioner Control Room took immediate action, while the relevant district returning officer (DRO) and returning officer (RO) brought the situation under control with the help of police. “The issue has since been resolved and polling is continuing as usual,” the statement added.

framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-27

🔮 Spokesperson for the Election Commission of Pakistan, Huda Gohar, told Dawn that voters present within the boundaries of the polling station will be allowed to cast their vote past 5pm as well.

2026-09-27 · Dawn

Polling concludes in NA-168 Bahawalpur by-election · assertive framing

2026-09-27 · Dawn

Polling concludes in Bahawalpur's NA-168 by-election · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 1 hedged)

The voting process concluded peacefully on Sunday in the by-poll for Bahawalpur’s NA-168 constituency. asserted

process → conclude → constituency

A close contest was expected between PML-N’s Malik Munir Iqbal Channar and independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema. asserted

contest → expect → Channar

The seat fell vacant after the death of Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar in August, whose son was now the ruling party’s candidate. asserted

son → fall → August

Polling began at 8am and concluded at 5pm. asserted

Polling → begin → pm

Spokesperson for the Election Commission of Pakistan, Huda Gohar, told Dawn that voters present within the boundaries of the polling station will be allowed to cast their vote past 5pm as well. asserted

voters → tell → pm

The polling process remained largely peaceful across the constituency. asserted

process → remain → constituency

However, balloting was briefly disrupted at a polling station in Akhtarabad after a brawl between voters, a statement by the provincial election commissioner said. asserted

statement → disrupt → commissioner

The incident involved alleged harassment of election staff by political workers, the statement said. asserted

statement → involve → workers

statement → take → police

According to data from the provincial election commissioner’s office, a total of 483,143 people are registered in the constituency, including 248,259 men and 234,614 women across 292 polling stations. uncertain

total → accord → stations

At the polling stations, 307 presiding officers and 941 polling officers and assistant presiding officers have been deployed. asserted

officers → preside → stations

A day earlier, the Punjab Home Department requested the federal interior ministry that troops of army and Rangers (Punjab) be deployed in the constituency for smooth, peaceful and secure conduct of the by-election. asserted

troops → request → election

Leading up to the by-poll, three persons were injured on Sept 12 in an armed clash at Baqirpur in connection with the election campaign of Cheema, the son of former PML-Q federal minister Tariq Bashir Cheema. asserted

persons → lead → Cheema

As per Rescue 1122 sources, the clash occurred during Cheema’s election rally between the supporters of the rival candidates, and some of them resorted to firing, resulting in injuries to three people. asserted

some → occur → people