The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has retained both seats contested in Sunday’s Punjab by-elections, with Rashid Basheer Virk winning the National Assembly constituency NA-77 in Gujranwala and Muhammad Asad Hanif Jutt keeping the Punjab Assembly seat PP-203 in Sahiwal, according to provisional consolidated results.
In NA-77, Virk polled 43,365 votes against 30,218 for his nearest rival, Mohammad Ibrahim of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a winning margin of 13,147 votes, according to the Form-47 statement seen by Dawn. Form-47 is the provisional consolidated statement of results prepared by the returning officer from the vote counts of all polling stations in a constituency. Eleven candidates contested the seat, and voter turnout stood at just 15.7 per cent.
A father’s seat, won by his son
The NA-77 seat fell vacant after the death of Virk’s father, Chaudhry Mehmood Bashir Virk, a five-time member of the National Assembly, on September 11. His son’s victory keeps the seat in the family and in the PML-N, which has held the constituency for years.
Polling began at 8am and concluded at 5pm, with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reporting an uninterrupted and largely peaceful process. Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja visited the provincial election chief’s office during the day, where he was briefed on the polling process in both constituencies. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had boycotted the by-elections.
PP-203: Hanif Jutt retains Chichawatni
In PP-203 of Chichawatni, PML-N’s Muhammad Asad Hanif Jutt won with 42,114 votes, defeating Muhammad Awais Mahmood of Tehreek-i-Ehsas Pakistan, who secured 24,512 votes, according to its Form-47 — a winning margin of 17,602 votes. Turnout in the constituency was 27.6 per cent.
The seat fell vacant after the death of PML-N MPA Chaudhry Muhammad Hanif Jutt, who died of cardiac arrest on September 17. It was the second time a by-election had been held in the constituency since the 2024 general elections. In 2024, the seat was won by PTI-backed independent candidate Rai Murtaza Iqbal with 55,874 votes against Jutt’s 35,163. Iqbal was later disqualified and denotified by the ECP after his conviction by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad on July 31. A by-election held on November 23, 2025 was won by Jutt with 46,820 votes.
Around 1,370 polling personnel, including 574 women and 796 men, were deputed at 185 polling stations across the constituency, while 1,100 police personnel were deployed to ensure security, District Police Officer Usman Tipu said.
Notices, allegations and a hearing that could delay the result
The result may not be final yet. The ECP has said the NA-77 result could be withheld until a final decision is made on a code-of-conduct case against Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who allegedly visited the constituency by helicopter and addressed a campaign event for Virk, in violation of rules barring public office holders from campaigning. Tarar, along with Virk and Punjab MPA Qudsia Batool, has been summoned to appear at the next hearing on November 12.
Notices were also issued to several PML-N lawmakers for allegedly visiting polling stations in NA-77, including MPA Qudsia Batool, MNA Saira Afzal Tarar and Parliamentary Secretary Shazia Rizwan, as well as MNA Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar and MPA Hina Arshad Warraich. The officials were directed to appear at the Election Complex in Gujranwala for an explanation.
Separately, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari alleged in a post on X that supporters of PMML candidate Qazi Ibrahim Gujjar were caught openly stamping ballot papers with election staff present. Acting on the complaint, the provincial election commissioner directed the returning officer concerned to probe the matter and submit a report. Notices were also issued to PML-N MPAs Malik Qasim Nadeem and Motiya Begum over alleged visits to polling stations in PP-203.
“Politics has returned to delivery and performance”
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, whose PML-N is in power in the province, posted on X after polling ended, claiming her party was in the lead in both constituencies. “This electoral victory is no ordinary victory. It is a resounding public rebuke to conspiracy peddlers, hate mongers and those who refuse to read the writing on the wall,” she wrote.
She contended that the results showed “the politics of delivery is far more enduring than the politics of hate and revenge”, adding: “I am glad politics has returned to delivery and performance. Wake up and smell the coffee… or keep sleeping in denial!”
What happens next now depends on the Election Commission. Its formal notification of the NA-77 result remains pending, and the November 12 hearing on the code-of-conduct case will decide whether the result stands as announced or is withheld. Either way, the PML-N has kept both seats — but the low turnout in NA-77, at just 15.7 per cent, and the cloud of conduct notices mean the story of this by-election is not over yet.
Sources: Dawn (Form-47 figures, ECP notices, CM Maryam quotes); Election Commission of Pakistan.
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