Residents of Gilgit-Baltistan are heading to polling stations across the region as they vote for 24 seats of the legislative assembly.
The general elections for Gilgit-Baltistan 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.
The total number of registered voters in the region’s 10 districts is 963,034, including 566,097 male and 396,937 female voters.
GB Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan visited various polling stations across Gilgit city to review the polling process, security arrangements and the overall electoral environment.
He also inspected the facilities and arrangements provided to voters at the polling stations and met polling agents representing different candidates.
Speaking to PTV News, Khan noted that he has so far visited around 10 polling stations, where security arrangements were satisfactory.
He said women were turning out in large numbers to cast ballots, which reflected strong public awareness about the importance of exercising their democratic right.
He added that all political parties were participating peacefully in the electoral process.
GB Caretaker Interior Minister Sajid Ali Baig said he visited various polling stations, where the overall environment remains peaceful.
According to APP, he told a local media outlet that there were public demands for further deployment of police forces in some areas for smooth and secure polling.
The minister said minor irregularities observed at certain locations were being addressed promptly by the authorities concerned.
The PML-N shared a video of its supporters gathering at an election camp in Skardu, while the PTI shared a video of people outside a Gilgit polling station voicing support for the party.
Who’s contesting?
PPP has 23 candidates, PML-N has 22, Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) has 15, PML-Q has 11, Tehreek-i-Islami Pakistan has 10, Pakistan Nazriyati Party (PNP) also has 10, while nine candidates from the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are contesting the elections.
Meanwhile, the PTI, which won the 2020 elections, remains without an electoral symbol since Jan 13, 2024 and therefore, its candidates are contesting as independents.
In line with its strategy for the national 2024 elections, it has allied with the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM). A social media post by the party shows their alliance has 22 candidates combined, with MWM nominees bearing the “tent” symbol.
MWM has three candidates in the running, and one candidate from the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) will also contest the election.
Six candidates each from Jamaat-i-Islami and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) will also contest the elections, along with four candidates from Awami Workers Party (AWP) and one nominee from Awami National Party (ANP).
PPP, IPP, and PNP have nominated one woman each.
The main contenders for the winning candidate are Advocate Amjad Hussain from the PPP and former chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman from the PML-N.
Hussain, president of the PPP’s GB chapter, has served as a member of the GB assembly from 2020 to 2025 and as a member of the GB council from 2009 to 2014. He is contesting from GBA-1 (Gilgit-I).
Rehman, currently the president of the PML-N’s GB chapter, served as the chief minister from 2015 to 2020. He also served as an assembly member from 2004 to 2009. The former CM is contesting the polls from GBA-2 (Gilgit-II).
PPP pledges rights; PML-N vows projects
In a video statement issued early in the morning, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari urged the public across GB to turn up in large numbers and cast their vote on the party’s “arrow” symbol.
“I want to get the people of Gilgit-Baltistan haq-i-hakmiyat (right to govern). I want to get Gilgit-Baltistan constitutional rights. Come, make PPP win so we can make GB the fifth province,” Bilawal said.
He further promised to provide “haq-i-rozgar (right to employment)” to the youth of GB if his party got elected.
“From the riverside to the peak of the mountains, I want to make you the owner of your land,” the PPP chairman said, adding that a vast area of land had been turned into “common land from state land”.
In his video statement, PML-N’s Rehman noted that his party held over 200 corner meetings, more than 40 jalsas and 11 rallies during the election campaign.
He apologised to PML-N supporters for not being able to visit various areas he wanted to due to party duties.
“I hope that your vote will be in support of progress, peace, development that has been paused since 2020, [and] for the eradication of load-shedding,” the former CM remarked.
Rehman emphasised his party’s pledge to work on development projects, construction of roads and metro buses, and better governance.
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, the GB CEC 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 had 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 Bilawal 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.
Additional input from APP
