Date coincides with PTI long march: NA-168: By-election on Sep 27

ISLAMABAD: The electoral body has announced by-election on a National Assembly seat that fell vacant following the death of a Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker, on the coming 27th of September, the same day when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced its long march in support of incarcerated party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.

A notification issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday read that public notice opening the nominations for the by-election on NA-168 Bahawalpur-V would be issued tomorrow (13 August)— whereas polling would be held on 27 September.

The NA-168 had fallen vacant on August 1 following the death of Malik Iqbal Channar after protracted illness in Lahore.

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.

The NA-168 by-election date of September 27 coincides with the long march announced by the PTI for the release of Khan.

On 5 August, 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 a long march against what he said were frivolous cases pursued against the ex-PM.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026