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

Polling concludes in Bahawalpur's NA-168 by-election

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APA MLA Chicago

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

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Quick Summary

Voting concluded peacefully on Sunday for the NA-168 constituency by-election in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The contest was tight between PML-N candidate Malik Munir Iqbal Channar and independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema. With 483,143 registered voters, including 248,259 men and 234,614 women across 292 polling stations, the election commission noted routine complaints but no major disruptions. Earlier, a minor altercation briefly halted voting at one station due to alleged harassment of staff by political workers, which was quickly resolved.

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

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

15%

2 of 13 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

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Analyzed 2026-09-27 · how these are computed

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Source leaning vs. consistency

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Who wrote this

Imran Gabol

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

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Topics

Akhtarabad BAHAWALPUR Election Commission of Pakistan PML The Provincial Election Commissioner Control Room

Subjects

BAHAWALPUR GPE · 2× Cheema PERSON · 2× Akhtarabad GPE · 1× Election Commission of Pakistan ORG · 1× Huda Gohar PERSON · 1× Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar PERSON · 1× Malik Munir Iqbal Channar PERSON · 1× PML ORG · 1× The Provincial Election Commissioner Control Room ORG · 1× Wali Dad Cheema PERSON · 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

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 (13 extracted, 2 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

Voters present within the boundaries of the polling station were to be allowed to cast their vote past 5pm as well, according to Election Commission of Pakistan spokesperson Huda Gohar. uncertain

Voters → allow → Gohar

The polling process remained largely peaceful across the constituency, a statement by the provincial election commissioner said, noting that “routine complaints” were received. asserted

complaints → remain → commissioner

In an earlier statement, the election commissioner said balloting was briefly disrupted at a polling station in Akhtarabad due to a brawl between voters after alleged harassment of election staff by political workers. asserted

balloting → say → workers

statement → take → police

According to data from the provincial election commissioner’s office, a total of 483,143 people were 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 were 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 supporters of the rival candidates, and some of them resorted to firing, resulting in injuries to three people. asserted

some → occur → people