Unofficial and initial results from the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly elections on 24 seats indicated that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was leading the field, having won seven constituencies as vote counting progressed on Sunday.
Based on unofficial results available from 17 of the 24 constituencies, PPP has emerged victorious on nine seats. Independent candidates have secured six seats, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) have won one seat each.
Reacting to the unofficial results, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that “the arrow is raining in Gilgit-Baltistan”, referring to the party’s election symbol. He said the PPP was emerging as the largest party in the region and would make efforts to form the government.
Bilawal also expressed his gratitude to the people for their trust and support.
Polling for 24 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly seats ended peacefully on Sunday under tight security. The polling process began at 8am and continued till 5pm without any break.
A total of 403 candidates took part in the elections, including 396 men and 8 women. The total number of registered voters in the region was 963,034, including 566,097 male and 396,937 female voters.
Gilgit Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz visited various polling stations to review the voting process. He inspected arrangements and monitored the conduct of voting at different stations.
Speaking to the media after the voting process, Raja Shahbaz said that polling was completed peacefully, with a notably high turnout among women voters.
He said the overall law and order situation remained satisfactory throughout the polling process. “The election process has been completed in a peaceful environment,” he said.
The chief election commissioner said he personally visited polling stations to monitor the voting process and assess arrangements on the ground.
“I myself visited polling stations,” Raja Shahbaz said, adding that polling staff and security personnel performed their duties effectively.
He further said that polling agents were asked whether they had any complaints regarding the conduct of the elections.
The Election Commission had established 1,391 polling stations across all districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. Of these, 488 have been classified as normal, 349 as sensitive and 551 as highly sensitive.
Unofficial and preliminary results from all 80 polling stations of GBA-1 Gilgit-I showed PPP’s Amjad Hussain emerging victorious with 10,594 votes, defeating PML-N’s Muhammad Shafiq Uddin.
In GBA-3 Gilgit-III, unofficial results showed independent candidate Syed Sohail Abbas emerged victorious, while PPP’s Aftab Haider remained runner-up.
In GBA-4 Nagar-I, unofficial results showed PPP’s Muhammad Ali Akhtar emerged victorious, while Islami Tehreek Pakistan’s (ITP) Muhammad Ayub Waziri remained runner-up.
Unofficial and preliminary results from GBA-5 Nagar-II showed PPP’s Zulfiqar Ali Murad emerged victorious.
In GBA-6 Hunza, unofficial and preliminary results showed independent candidate Naiknam Karim emerged victorious, while PPP’s Imtiazul Haq remained runner-up.
Unofficial and preliminary results from all polling stations of GBA-7 Skardu-I showed PPP’s Syed Tauqeer Mehdi emerged victorious, while Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s Raja Jalal Hussain Khan remained runner-up.
In GBA-8 Skardu-II, unofficial and preliminary results showed Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’s (MWM) Muhammad Kazim emerged victorious with 10,474 votes, while PPP’s Muhammad Ali Shah secured 10,118 votes to finish second.
Meanwhile, unofficial and preliminary results from GBA-9 Skardu-III showed PPP’s Fida Muhammad Nashad emerged victorious, defeating independent candidate Wazir Muhammad Saleem.
In GBA-10 Skardu-IV, unofficial and preliminary results showed PPP’s Nasir Ali Khan emerged victorious.
In GBA-11 Kharmang, unofficial and preliminary results showed PPP’s Iqbal Hassan was leading, while PML-N’s Mohsin Rizvi remained in contention.
In GBA-12 Shigar, unofficial and preliminary results showed PPP’s Imran Nadeem emerged victorious.
In GBA-19 Ghizer-I, PPP’s Syed Jalal Shah emerged victorious with 9,613 votes, while independent candidate Nawaz Khan Naji secured 8,210 votes.
In GBA-20 Ghizer-II, unofficial and preliminary results from all 69 polling stations showed PML-N’s Abdul Jahan emerging victorious with 6,917 votes, while PPP’s Nazir Ahmed secured 6,758 votes to finish second.
In GBA-21 Ghizer-III, unofficial and preliminary results from all 60 polling stations showed independent candidate Aman Ali emerged victorious with 9,938 votes, while PPP’s Muhammad Ayub Shah secured 6,643 votes to finish second.
In GBA-22 Ghanche-I, unofficial and unconfirmed results showed PML-N’s Muhammad Ibrahim Sanai emerged victorious.
Unofficial and preliminary results from all 50 polling stations in the GBA-23 Ghanche-II constituency showed independent candidate Anwar Ali emerged victorious with 12,117 votes.
Unofficial and preliminary results from the GBA-24 Ghanche-III constituency showed independent candidate Asad Shafiq emerged victorious, while PPP’s Muhammad Ismail remained runner-up.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders have raised concerns over delays in the issuance of Form-45 during the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections.
PPP Parliamentarians' Secretary General Nayyer Hussain Bukhari said that Form-45 was not being provided and claimed that party representatives were being asked to leave polling areas.
Bukhari said he had contacted the GB CEC and informed him about the situation. He also stated that the elections were held in a peaceful environment and urged that the situation should not be allowed to deteriorate further, calling on the Election Commission to immediately play its role.
Separately, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that he had spoken to the election commissioner regarding the issuance of Form-45. He stated that the results given by the public should be reflected accurately, urging party workers to remain peaceful at polling stations.
Kaira further said the elections should not be made controversial and instructed workers not to leave polling stations without receiving Form-45.
PPP's Nadeem Afzal Chan has alleged attempts to influence the Gilgit-Baltistan elections. He said the federal government should refrain from “engineering” the electoral process in the region.
“Such tactics cannot steal the mandate of the people of GB,” he added.
Nadeem Afzal claimed that two federal ministers were pressuring the administrative machinery in Gilgit-Baltistan. “Federal ministers are trying to influence the election results,” he alleged.
He further said presiding officers were facing pressure not to issue Form-45.
Meanwhile, GB CEC has issued directives to Returning Officers (ROs) across all 24 constituencies to ensure the issuance of verified Form 45 results.
Raja instructed that the process must be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Elections Act 2017 and Election Rules 2017.
“Form-45 is being issued at all polling stations where vote counting has concluded,” he added.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has fielded the highest number of candidates, with 23 contesting the elections, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 22 and 19 independents backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) has fielded 15 candidates, the Pakistan Nazriyati Party (PNP) 11, while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Islami Tehreek Pakistan (ITP) have fielded nine candidates each.
The Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) has nominated seven candidates, while Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) have fielded six candidates each. The Awami Workers Party (AWP) has fielded four candidates.
Authorities placed foolproof security arrangements in place for the elections. Personnel from the local police, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts, and contingents from Punjab and Sindh police were deployed to perform security duties at polling stations and other key locations.
Additional security personnel were deployed at vulnerable locations, while law enforcement agencies and the district administration remain on high alert throughout the election process.
Speaking to journalists, GB Inspector General of Police Nasir Akbar Khan said that more than 17,500 personnel have been deployed for security during the electoral process.
Police, Rangers and other law enforcement agencies are on alert, he said, adding that additional force has been deployed at sensitive polling stations.
