Polling begins in Gilgit-Baltistan general elections for 24 seats

Polling began on Sunday morning for 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly amid tight security arrangements.

The general elections for the GB’s legislative assembly are taking place after a four-month delay, which was attributed to harsh winter weather.

The voting process in the region began at 8am on Sunday and is set to conclude at 5pm.

The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly has a total of 33 seats — 24 of which are contested through direct elections, six are reserved for women, and three are reserved for technocrats and professionals. Political parties can nominate candidates for the reserved seats through proportional representation.

A total of 396 candidates are contesting the elections, with 266 running as independents. Only eight women are contesting the elections, five of them as independent candidates.

According to the GB Election Commission, there are 958,480 registered voters in the region, including 503,772 male and 454,708 female voters.

The PPP has fielded 23 candidates, while 22 from the PML-N are contesting the elections. Both parties have nominated one female candidate each. Additionally, 15 candidates from the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) and 10 from the PTI are in the fray.

Moreover, 10 candidates are contesting on the tickets of the Pakistan Nazriyati Party, while nine belong to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), seven to the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), and six each to the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P).

Four candidates are representing the Awami Workers Party (AWP), while one candidate each from the Awami National Party (ANP), the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and the PML-Q is also in the race.

Tight security

As part of security arrangements, 6,000 Punjab police personnel and 2,000 from Islamabad police — including 150 personnel from its security division — have been assigned for election duty in the mountainous region.

According to a list issued by the GB Election Commission, a total of 1,391 polling stations have been established across the region, of which 488 are categorised as normal, 349 as sensitive and 551 as highly sensitive.

Diamer, with 119 highly sensitive polling stations out of a total of 174, has the highest number of such stations among all districts.

Additional security personnel will be deployed at vulnerable locations, while law enforcement agencies and the district administration will remain on high alert throughout the election process.

On Saturday, GB Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan urged voters to exercise their democratic right and play a constructive role in maintaining law and order.

He asserted that all necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections across the region.

CEC Khan has also delegated powers of a first-class magistrate to all district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) for the peaceful and transparent conduct of the elections.

The election campaign

The last elections — held on Nov 15, 2020 — had been won by the PTI, which was also in power in the Centre at the time.

However, its Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan was disqualified for an alleged fake degree in July 2023.

Subsequently, a coalition government was formed by members of the PTI, PPP and PML-N with Haji Gulbar Khan — an estranged PTI member — elected by the assembly as the new chief minister.

In the run-up to the current polls, the PML-N and the PPP campaigned with full force as their party chiefs toured the region.

PML-N President Nawaz Sharif visited Gilgit, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari gave fiery speeches at rallies in various districts.

However, the PTI has decried a “lack of level playing field” in the current elections after its key leaders were expelled from GB on separate occasions. The party has also alleged other tactics to deter its election campaign activities.

Meanwhile, the PPP has raised concerns over the deployment of Punjab police personnel and the participation of federal ministers in the PML-N’s campaign.

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Additional input from APP