ISLAMABAD: The poll body has issued the code of conduct for security personnel assigned duties for by-election on a National Assembly’s seat scheduled on this month’s 27th, the same day when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced to begin its long march in support of incarcerated party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.
A related notification from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reads that the security personnel would remain deployed outside all the polling stations of NA-168 Bahawalpur (where the by-election is taking place).
The security personnel, according to the notification, are required to be “aware of the fact that the polling agent of each candidate who observes the counting process is, by law, allowed to take copy of Form-45 (result of the vote count) and Form 46 (ballot paper account) from presiding officer. Similarly, an observer, if any, who is present at the time of counting, may also receive the aforesaid copies of the forms from the presiding officer.”
Through the notification, the electoral body has also instructed the security personnel “not to act in such a manner which may draw an impression of being partial or biased.”
On the 11th of last month, the ECP announced by-election on the NA-168 seat following the death of Malik Iqbal Channar, who belonged to Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), after protracted illness on August 1.
The NA-168 by-election date of September 27 coincides with the long march announced by the PTI for the release of Khan.
On August 5, the PTI held public rallies across the country to mark three years of Khan’s imprisonment. Addressing a related public gathering in Peshawar the same day, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi announced the long march against what he said were frivolous cases pursued against the ex-PM.
Meanwhile, the poll body on Friday announced a by-election on NA-77 Gujranwala on November 8 this year. This seat fell vacant following the death of PML-N’s Mahmood Bashir Virk on September 11.
The Section 102(1) of the Elections Act, 2017 provides that when the seat of a lawmaker becomes vacant, the ECP shall, by notification in the official gazette, call upon the constituency concerned to elect a person to fill the seat for the constituency.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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