{"id":127155,"date":"2026-06-07T11:27:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T06:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=127155"},"modified":"2026-06-07T11:27:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T06:27:56","slug":"polling-underway-for-gilgit-baltistan-general-elections-on-24-seats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/127155\/","title":{"rendered":"Polling underway for Gilgit-Baltistan general elections on 24 seats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gilgit-Baltistan(National Times)- Polling is underway for\u00a024 seats<\/a>\u00a0of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly amid tight security arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The general elections for GB are taking place after a four-month delay<\/u><\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly has a total of 33 seats \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total number of registered voters in the region\u2019s 10 districts is 963,034, including 566,097 male and 396,937 female voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) has seven candidates in the running. 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One candidate from Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) will also contest the election. Also, PPP, IPP, and PNP have nominated one woman each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main contenders for the winning candidate are Advocate Amjad Hussain from the PPP and former chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman<\/a> from the PML-N.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hussain, president of the PPP\u2019s 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rehman, currently the president of the PML-N\u2019s 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).This photo combo shows PML-N\u2019s Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman (L) and Advocate Amjad Hussain (R). \u2014 X\/@CMGBPK \/ Facebook\/@AdvocateAmjad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Tight security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As part of security arrangements, 6,000<\/a> Punjab police personnel and 2,000<\/a> from Islamabad police \u2014 including 150 personnel from its security division \u2014 have been assigned for election duty in the mountainous region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diamer, with 119 highly sensitive polling stations out of a total of 174, has the highest number of such stations among all districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>The election campaign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The last elections<\/a> \u2014 held<\/a> on Nov 15, 2020 \u2014 had been won by the PTI<\/a>, which was also in power in the Centre at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, its Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan<\/a> was disqualified<\/a> for an alleged fake degree in July 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently, a coalition government was formed by members of the PTI, PPP and PML-N with Haji Gulbar Khan<\/u><\/a> \u2014 an estranged PTI member \u2014 elected<\/a> by the assembly as the new chief minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PML-N President Nawaz Sharif visited Gilgit<\/a>, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari gave fiery speeches at rallies<\/a> in various districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the PTI has decried a \u201clack of level playing field\u201d in the current elections after its key leaders were expelled<\/a> from GB on separate<\/a> occasions. The party has also alleged other tactics<\/a> to deter its election campaign activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the PPP has raised concerns<\/a> over the deployment of Punjab police personnel and the participation of federal ministers in the PML-N\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gilgit-Baltistan(National Times)- Polling is underway for\u00a024 seats\u00a0of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly amid tight security arrangements. The general elections for GB 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nPolling underway for Gilgit-Baltistan general elections on 24 seats - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/127155\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Polling underway for Gilgit-Baltistan general elections on 24 seats - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gilgit-Baltistan(National Times)- Polling is underway for\u00a024 seats\u00a0of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly amid tight security arrangements. 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