NA-77 Gujranwala by-election: Polling under way in Gujranwala and Sahiwal
Polling in the NA-77 Gujranwala by-election is under way in two Punjab constituencies today, Sunday 8 November 2026, as voters in NA-77 Gujranwala-I and PP-203 Sahiwal-VI choose new representatives in by-elections triggered by the deaths of the sitting members. Polling began at 8:00 in the morning and will continue without a break until 5:00 in the evening.
More than 776,000 voters are registered across the two constituencies, and both contests are being held under tight security, with the Pakistan Army and Punjab Rangers deployed around polling stations. The by-elections, including the NA-77 Gujranwala by-election, are the first electoral test in Punjab since the general election, and both seats were held by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — which is defending them today against challengers from the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) and a field of independents.
Only these two seats are voting today. The PS-30 Khairpur-V by-election in Sindh, which some early lists grouped with today’s polls, was already held on 16 August 2026, when the PPP’s Asfandyar Kharal won the seat.
NA-77 Gujranwala: son defends father’s seat against PMML challenge
The main contest of the day is in NA-77 Gujranwala-I, a National Assembly seat that fell vacant after the death of five-time MNA Chaudhry Mehmood Bashir Virk on 11 September 2026 following a prolonged illness. The PML-N has given its ticket to his son, Rashid Bashir Virk, who is contesting to keep in the family a seat the party has held for decades.
His principal challenger is Qazi Muhammad Ibrahim Gujjar of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), which has made the Gujranwala contest one of its most visible campaigns of the year. The constituency covers Gujranwala Cantonment and the towns of Qila Didar Singh and Ludhewala Warraich, along with parts of Gujranwala city and Saddar tehsil — an urban and cantonment mix where the PML-N has traditionally been strong.
The scale of the task facing the challengers is clear from the last general election. In February 2024, Mehmood Bashir Virk won NA-77 with 109,704 votes, ahead of Rashida Tariq on 91,825 votes and the PPP’s Imtiaz Safdar Warraich on 17,059. The PMML’s candidate polled around 6,500 votes. The constituency had 483,104 registered voters at that election, and the NA-77 Gujranwala by-election is now the test of whether that PML-N margin survives without the late MNA himself on the ballot.
The PTI, which finished second in the constituency in 2024, is not contesting either by-election today. The party has announced a complete boycott of both polls, saying it will neither field candidates nor back independents — a decision that removes the largest opposition bloc from the ballot and leaves the PML-N and PMML as the main organised forces in Gujranwala.
PP-203 Sahiwal: seven candidates, 185 polling stations
In PP-203 Sahiwal-VI, voters are electing a member of the Punjab Assembly from a field of seven candidates. The Election Commission of Pakistan has set up 185 polling stations with around 560 polling booths for 258,122 registered voters — 135,728 men and 122,394 women.
The PML-N candidate is Muhammad Asad Hanif Jutt, the nephew of the late MPA whose death created the vacancy, contesting on the party’s lion symbol. The only other party candidate in the race is Awais Mahmood Gujjar of Tehreek-e-Ehsas Pakistan, who has been allotted the streetlight symbol. The remaining five candidates are independents. Ten candidates had originally filed nomination papers, and three later withdrew.
The seat fell vacant after PML-N MPA Chaudhry Muhammad Hanif Jutt died of a cardiac arrest on 17 September 2026. He had himself won PP-203 in a by-election in November 2025, after the original winner was disqualified following a conviction by an Anti-Terrorism Court — so this is the second time in a year that voters in Sahiwal-VI are being asked to choose their representative.
Army and Rangers deployed as campaigning ends
Security for both by-elections is being handled by the civil administration with the army and Punjab Rangers in support. The federal government approved the deployment last week, and troops and Rangers personnel are in place from 7 to 9 November — covering the day before polling, polling day itself and the day after.
Campaigning for both seats ended at midnight between 6 and 7 November, in line with the Election Commission’s rules, which bar electioneering in the final 48 hours before polling. Candidates and their supporters have spent the last two days in door-to-door canvassing rather than public rallies.
ECP notice hangs over the NA-77 result
One development from the eve of polling could still shape the outcome of the NA-77 Gujranwala by-election On Saturday, the Election Commission issued a notice to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar for an alleged violation of the code of conduct during the NA-77 campaign, after he reportedly landed in the constituency by helicopter and addressed a campaign gathering for the PML-N candidate.
Tarar has been summoned to appear before the district monitoring officer at 11:00 AM today, and a notice has also been issued to Rashid Bashir Virk for inviting the minister to campaign in the constituency. The Commission has warned that the NA-77 result may be withheld until a final decision is made in the matter — which means the winner in Gujranwala may not be formally declared tonight even if counting is completed.
How to check your polling station, and what happens after 5 PM
Voters in both constituencies can check their electoral details by sending their CNIC number, without hyphens or spaces, as a text message to the Election Commission’s 8300 SMS service. The service returns the voter’s polling station, block code and serial number, and it remains the quickest way for voters who are unsure where to go to cast their ballot.
Polling closes at 5:00 PM, after which counting begins at the polling stations and results from the NA-77 Gujranwala by-election will start to arrive through the evening. The formal announcement for each seat will follow once the returning officers have consolidated the counts — and in NA-77, that announcement may be delayed if the Election Commission’s inquiry into the campaign-visit notice is still open. More details are available on the Election Commission’s website at https://www.ecp.gov.pk.
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