Islamabad, November 28, 2025: The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has observed that the November 23 by-elections were largely well-managed but marred by recurring violations of campaigning restrictions and gaps in results transparency, alongside a worryingly low voter turnout.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged victorious in all six National Assembly constituencies up for grabs, securing nearly 64 percent of the total votes. Five of these constituencies were in Punjab and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, vacated mostly due to the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs.
In the Punjab Assembly by-elections, PML-N won six out of seven seats, capturing 82.41 percent of the polled votes. The party did not contest PP-269 Muzaffargarh, where PPP nominee Alamdar Qureshi was elected unopposed.
FAFEN deployed 122 trained observers to monitor 373 polling stations and 1,088 polling booths, including 626 male and 462 female booths. Observers also interviewed polling staff, security personnel, and 833 polling agents.
Campaign Violations: At 238 polling stations, 465 party camps operated in close proximity to polling sites, and transportation facilitation was observed at 184 stations. Party camps were issuing voter slips at 216 stations, while campaign material was found inside 16 booths.
Overall turnout fell by 23 percent for both men and women, with only one constituency recording above 50 percent. Polling was peaceful at 93 percent of booths, while only 1 percent were poorly managed. Ballot security and secrecy were largely upheld, with 98 percent of booths having intact seals and 96 percent maintaining secrecy screens.
At 92 booths, voter names and serial numbers were not announced, and at 10 booths, voters were turned away due to expired NICs. Additionally, at 107 booths, ballot papers were pre-signed, and at 102 booths, pre-stamped, which, though not illegal, may increase the risk of ballot misuse.
FAFEN noted gaps during the counting phase:
- Access to observers was denied at 2 polling stations.
- Form 45 (Result of the Count) was not provided to polling agents at 6 stations and to observers at 13 stations; not displayed outside 15 stations.
- Form 46 (Ballot Paper Account) was not provided to agents at 15 stations, observers at 17 stations, and not posted outside 16 stations.
- At 33 polling stations, presiding officers did not request agents to sign result forms.
Despite these issues, 97 percent of polling agents expressed satisfaction with the voting process, and all 137 agents interviewed post-counting reported satisfaction with the counting process.
FAFEN emphasized the need for stronger enforcement of campaigning restrictions, improved transparency in result sharing, and better accessibility for women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and transgender voters to ensure credible and inclusive elections in future by-polls.
