An elderly woman casts her vote at a polling station in Gilgit. PHOTO: APP
ISLAMABAD/GILGIT:
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has emerged in the lead in the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Assembly elections, as unofficial and incomplete results show the party leading in 11 of the 24 seats contested in Sunday’s elections.
The PPP is followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with five seats. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leads with three seats and its ally, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), with one seat, while independent candidates lead in two constituencies.
According to Express News, in the early hours of Monday, PPP candidate Amjad Hussain was leading in GBA-1 Gilgit-I with 1,553 votes after results from 10 out of 80 polling stations were counted. MWM’s Muhammad Ilyas Siddiqui comes second with 635 votes.
The unofficial GBA-2 results show PML-N candidate Hafeezur Rehman leading the race. PPP candidate Jameel Ahmed is in second position. In GBA-6 Hunza, results from 77 of 88 polling stations show a close race, with PTI-backed independent candidate Nek Naam Karim leading with 5,612 votes.
In GBA-7 Skardu-I, where counting was completed at all 31 polling stations, PPP candidate Syed Tauqeer Mehdi won the seat with 4,295 votes. Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Raja Jalal came second with 3,849 votes, while PML-N candidate Haji Akbar Taban came third with 2,667 votes.
Unofficial GBA-3 results show that a PTI-backed independent candidate won with 7,877 votes. In GBA-4 Nagar-I, PPP’s Muhammad Ali Akhtar emerged victorious with 7,670 votes, defeating IPP candidate Muhammad Ayub, who received 6,491 votes.
In GBA-9 Skardu-III, PPP candidate Fida Muhammad Nashad won with 6,314 votes while IPP candidate Wazir Muhammad Saleem finished second with 6,106 votes. In GBA-22 Ghanche, PML-N’s Ibrahim Sanai won with 9,308 votes. Independent candidates won in GBA-23 Ghanche and GBA-24.
In Astore, PML-N candidates Rana Farman Ali and Rana Muhammad Farooq won GBA-13 Astore-I and GBA-14 Astore-II respectively.
Meanwhile, counting continued in several electoral districts. In GBA-10 Skardu, PPP candidate Raja Nasir Ali Khan was leading, with MWM’s Mushtaq Hussain in second place. In GBA-15 Diamer-I, independent candidate Muhammad Dilpazeer was ahead.
In GBA-16 Diamer-II, IPP candidate Atiqullah was leading. In GBA-19 Ghizer-I, independent candidate Nawaz Khan was ahead of PML-N’s Zafar Muhammad, while in GBA-20 Ghizer-II, independent candidate Safdar Ali Shirazi led with PML-N’s Abdul Jahan in second place.
Previously, voting across GB took place peacefully on Sunday. Voting began at 8 a.m. and continued uninterrupted until 5 p.m. in all districts. Election day passed without major disturbances and voters turned out in large numbers to polling stations throughout the region.
According to official figures, there are 963,000 registered voters in Britain, including 506,000 men and 456,000 women. A total of 1,391 polling stations were set up, in which a large turnout was recorded, in which a considerable number of women also participated.
More than 12 political parties, along with independent candidates, participated in the elections. In total, 396 male candidates and eight female candidates participated in the race, highlighting a competitive electoral field in the region. The fight between the PPP and the PML-N was closely followed.
The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly consists of 33 seats. Of these, 24 are filled through direct elections, while six seats are reserved for women and three for technocrats. A simple majority of 17 seats is required for any party or alliance to form a government.
GB Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan visited various polling stations in Gilgit city and reviewed the electoral arrangements, security measures and overall electoral environment. Speaking to PTV, he said strong electoral activity was being witnessed across GB.
He said security measures were satisfactory and voting was being carried out in an organized manner. She noted that women’s participation in specific polling stations reflected a growing awareness of the importance of voting. He expressed satisfaction with the overall voter turnout.
UK Acting Information Minister Ghulam Abbas also praised voter turnout in the election. Speaking to local media, he said the elections ran smoothly and a significant number of voters turned out at polling stations across the region.
As the counting of votes continued after the polls closed, PPP representatives expressed concern over the non-issuance of ‘Form 45’, the document containing the counting of votes at the polling stations. The party described the issue as a point of contention in several areas.
PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said he had anticipated concerns regarding the results process and had taken up the matter with the Election Commission earlier, specifically demanding the issuance of ‘Form 45’.
Kaira urged party workers to remain calm at the polling stations and avoid any form of unrest, highlighting the importance of maintaining peace during the counting process. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) also echoed their concerns.
In a statement, JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri expressed serious reservations over the ‘Form 45’ issue, describing it as a major point of contention in the ongoing recount process. He said delays in announcing results had also cast serious doubts on the credibility of the electoral process.
Meanwhile, PTI leaders claimed that the party’s candidates had performed well in the elections. PTI leader and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan said the party had a clear advantage on the ground compared to other political forces. He urged voters to closely follow the results process to ensure his mandate is protected.
