PML-N's Munir Channar wins Bahawalpur's NA-168 by-election by nearly two to one

The PML-N has held on to the National Assembly seat of NA-168 Bahawalpur-V, with party candidate Malik Munir Iqbal Channar winning Sunday’s by-election by a margin of almost two to one, according to unofficial results.

Channar secured 62,713 votes against 31,293 for independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema, the unofficial tally from the constituency’s 292 polling stations showed late on Sunday. The seat fell vacant in August after the death of Channar’s father, MNA Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar, and the ruling party nominated his son to succeed him.

A slow start, then a late surge

Voting got off to a quiet start. Polling began on time at every station on Sunday morning, but staff were left waiting for several hours as only a handful of voters arrived before noon. Turnout picked up after midday, including among women.

Rural polling stations, especially around Jhangiwali and Abbasnagar, areas seen as strongholds of the Channar family, drew large numbers of voters.

Isolated incidents and complaints

The provincial election commissioner said polling was largely peaceful across the constituency. There were, however, reports of isolated violence, mismanagement and confusion, as well as complaints that women’s voter lists were not available at some polling stations.

The most serious disruption came at a polling station in Akhtarabad, regarded as a PML-N stronghold, where voting was halted after a brawl broke out among voters. According to the election commissioner, the scuffle followed alleged harassment of election staff by political workers, and the district returning officer and returning officer restored order with the help of police.

Channar alleged that some people had disrupted the polling and were caught stamping ballot papers in favour of his rival. He said they were removed after the scuffle and that voting resumed after being suspended for several hours.

At the Bahawalpur 3-Marla Housing Scheme polling station, some voters alleged that police on duty had turned away people whose identity cards showed addresses in the Yazman area, considered a stronghold of Cheema.

Prime minister congratulates the winner

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Channar and his brother, Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channar, the deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly, on the result, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. He thanked the people of Bahawalpur for electing their representative and said the victory showed public confidence in the PML-N.

What the result means

The by-election had been closely watched as a test of the PML-N’s standing in south Punjab, as we reported when polling closed on Sunday. Cheema, the son of former federal minister Tariq Bashir Cheema, had been expected to run the ruling party close, and the campaign was marked by an armed clash at a Cheema rally in Baqirpur on September 12 that left three people injured.

Instead, the unofficial count points to a comfortable win for the Channar family, backed by strong turnout in its rural strongholds. The result comes at a tense moment in Punjab, days before the PTI’s planned march on Islamabad on October 4, and gives the provincial and federal governments a political boost as they push development projects across the province, from Safe City surveillance to sanitation.

Why it matters

Holding a seat in a by-election after a sitting member’s death is expected, but the size of the margin matters. A lead of more than 31,000 votes suggests the PML-N’s base in south Punjab remains solid despite the challenge from a well-known independent. The complaints raised on polling day, including the disruption in Akhtarabad and the allegations from Yazman voters, are now for the election authorities to address before the official result is confirmed.

This article draws on reporting published by Dawn.