Polling begins in Gilgit-Baltistan general elections for 24 seats

Voting commenced on Sunday morning for 24 contested seats in the Gilgit‑Baltistan Legislative Assembly, under stringent security measures.

These elections were postponed by four months due to severe winter conditions.

Polling started at 8 a.m. on Sunday and will remain open until 5 p.m.

The Gilgit‑Baltistan Legislative Assembly comprises 33 seats: 24 are filled by direct election, six are reserved for women, and three are allocated to technocrats and professionals. Political parties may nominate candidates for the reserved seats via proportional representation.

A total of 396 candidates are contesting the election, of which 266 are independent candidates. Only eight women are standing, five of whom are independents.

The Election Commission reports 958,480 registered voters in the region — 503,772 male and 454,708 female.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has nominated 23 candidates, and the Pakistan Muslim League‑N (PML‑N) is fielding 22. Each party has put forward one female candidate. Additionally, 15 candidates represent the Istehkam‑i‑Pakistan Party (IPP) and ten represent the Pakistan Tehreek‑e‑Insaf (PTI).

Ten candidates are running under the Pakistan Nazriyati Party banner, nine under Jamiat Ulema‑e‑Islam‑Fazl (JUI‑F), seven under Majlis Wahdat‑i‑Muslimeen (MWM), and six each for Jamaat‑i‑Islami (JI) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM‑P).

Four candidates represent the Awami Workers Party (AWP), and single candidates are fielded by the Awami National Party (ANP), the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), and PML‑Q.

Tight security

Security arrangements involve 6,000 Punjab police officers and 2,000 Islamabad police personnel — including 150 officers from a dedicated security division — deployed for election duties across the mountainous region.

The Election Commission lists 1,391 polling stations nationwide, comprising 488 regular, 349 sensitive, and 551 highly sensitive stations.

Diamer district alone accounts for 119 highly sensitive polling stations out of 174 total stations, the highest count among all districts.

Further security personnel will be deployed at vulnerable sites, and law‑enforcement agencies and district administrations will stay on high alert throughout the election period.

On Saturday, GB Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan urged voters to exercise their democratic right and contribute constructively to law‑and‑order maintenance.

He asserted that all necessary arrangements were in place to ensure peaceful, free, fair, and transparent elections throughout the region.

CEC Khan has delegated first‑class magistrate powers to all district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) to ensure the elections are conducted peacefully and transparently.

The election campaign

The previous election, held on 15 November 2020, was won by the PTI, which also held power at the national level.

Nevertheless, Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan was disqualified in July 2023 over allegations of a falsified degree.

Subsequently, a coalition of PTI, PPP and PML‑N members elected Haji Gulbar Khan — an independent PTI figure — as the new chief minister.

Ahead of the current polls, both PML‑N and PPP launched full‑scale campaigns, with their respective leaders touring the region.

PML‑N President Nawaz Sharif visited Gilgit, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto‑Zardari delivered fiery speeches at rallies across multiple districts.

The PTI, however, has decried an uneven playing field, claiming its key leaders were expelled from Gilgit‑Baltistan on separate occasions and that other tactics have hindered its campaign activities.

Meanwhile, the PPP has voiced concerns about the deployment of Punjab police personnel and the involvement of federal ministers in the PML‑N’s campaign.

Additional input from APP

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