GILGIT – Polling for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections has concluded, and the process of counting votes for all 24 seats has officially begun.
A total of 403 candidates took part in the elections, including 396 male and 8 female candidates contesting various constituencies.
Throughout the day, polling stations witnessed heavy voter turnout, with citizens standing in long queues from early morning. Voting continued without interruption until 5:00 pm.
However, isolated incidents were reported in some areas. In Skardu, a minor altercation broke out when unrelated individuals approached a polling station, but police quickly brought the situation under control. In Astore, complaints were also received regarding slow polling at several stations.
Chief Election Commissioner Gilgit-Baltistan Raja Shahbaz Khan visited multiple polling stations during the day and said that polling began on time and voters were participating enthusiastically in the democratic process.
According to the Election Commission, a total of 1,391 polling stations were set up across all districts, including 349 sensitive and 551 highly sensitive stations to ensure security.
Major political parties are contesting the elections with full strength. The Pakistan Peoples Party has fielded 23 candidates, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz 22, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party 15, Pakistan Muslim League 11, and JUI-F 9 candidates. In addition, candidates from MQM and Jamaat-e-Islami are also in the race, along with 266 independent candidates.
To ensure peaceful polling, strict security arrangements were put in place. Heavy contingents of local police, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts, and Punjab Police were deployed, while flag marches were also conducted across constituencies.
Unofficial election results received so far:
In GBA-1 Gilgit-1, according to results from 68 out of 80 polling stations, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Amjad Hussain is leading with 9,271 votes, while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Muhammad Shafiq-ud-Din is second with 4,907 votes.
In GBA-2 Gilgit-2, results from 27 of 91 polling stations show PML-N’s Hafiz ur Rehman in the lead with 4,129 votes, followed by PPP’s Jameel Ahmed with 2,695 votes.
In GBA-3 Gilgit-3, PML-N candidate Muhammad Iqbal leads with 5,303 votes after results from 46 of 82 polling stations, while independent candidate Syed Suhail Abbas is second with 4,088 votes.
In GBA-4 Nagar-1, complete results from all 53 polling stations show PPP’s Muhammad Ali Akhtar winning with 7,530 votes, while Islamic Tehreek Pakistan’s Muhammad Ayub Waziri secured second position with 6,491 votes.
In GBA-5 Nagar-2, independent candidate Jahangir Shah is leading with 1,108 votes, followed by PML-N’s Javed Ali Manwa with 838 votes, based on results from 15 of 32 polling stations.
In GBA-6 Hunza, results from 77 of 88 polling stations show independent candidate Nek Naam Karim leading with 5,612 votes, while PPP’s Imtiaz-ul-Haq has 4,540 votes.
In GBA-7 Skardu-1, complete results from all 31 polling stations show PPP’s Syed Tauqeer Mehdi winning with 4,337 votes, while Istehkam Pakistan Party’s Raja Jalal Hussain Khan came second with 3,891 votes.
In GBA-8 Skardu-2, PPP’s Syed Muhammad Ali Shah leads with 3,746 votes, followed by Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’s Muhammad Kazim with 3,265 votes, based on results from 24 of 70 polling stations.
In GBA-9 Skardu-3, PPP’s Fida Muhammad Nashad is ahead with 4,190 votes, while independent candidate Wazir Muhammad Saleem follows with 3,758 votes, based on 30 of 54 polling stations.
In GBA-10 Skardu-4, results from 9 of 51 polling stations show Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’s Mushtaq Hussain leading with 1,059 votes, followed by PPP’s Nasir Ali Khan with 947 votes.
In GBA-11 Kharmang, PPP’s Iqbal Hassan leads with 1,607 votes, while independent candidate Shujaat Hussain has 897 votes, based on 11 of 51 polling stations.
In GBA-12 Shigar, PPP’s Imran Nadeem is leading with 6,367 votes, followed by Islamic Tehreek Pakistan’s Raja Muhammad Azam Khan with 3,679 votes, based on results from 35 of 71 polling stations.
In GBA-13 Astore-1, PML-N’s Rana Farman Ali leads with 4,368 votes, closely followed by independent candidate Shahida with 4,312 votes, based on 36 of 57 polling stations.
In GBA-14 Astore-2, PML-N’s Rana Muhammad Farooq is ahead with 4,300 votes, followed by Istehkam Pakistan Party’s Shams-ul-Haq Lone with 3,865 votes.
In GBA-15 Diamer-1, independent candidate Muhammad Dilpazeer leads with 1,426 votes, while JUI-F’s Wali ur Rehman has 996 votes.
In GBA-16 Diamer-2, Istehkam Pakistan Party’s Ateeq Ullah is leading with 1,302 votes, followed by PML-N’s Muhammad Anwar with 1,069 votes.
In GBA-17 Diamer-3, PPP’s Muhammad Naseem is ahead with 2,244 votes, while JUI-F’s Rehmat Khaliq has 1,128 votes.
In GBA-18 Diamer-4, PML-N’s Kifayat ur Rehman leads with 3,631 votes, followed by Istehkam Pakistan Party’s Gulbar Khan with 3,298 votes.
In GBA-19 Ghizer-1, PML-N’s Zafar Muhammad is leading with 2,233 votes, while independent candidate Nawaz Khan Naji has 2,155 votes.
In GBA-20 Ghizer-2, independent candidate Safdar Ali Shirazi leads with 1,530 votes, followed by PML-N’s Abdul Jahan with 1,504 votes.
In GBA-21 Ghizer-3, independent candidate Aman Ali is ahead with 4,647 votes, while PML-N’s Ghulam Muhammad has 3,016 votes.
In GBA-22 Ghanche-1, PML-N’s Muhammad Ibrahim Sanai is leading with 1,209 votes, followed by PPP’s Ashiq Hussain with 945 votes.
In GBA-23 Ghanche-2, independent candidate Anwar Ali leads with 3,992 votes, while independent candidate Abdul Hameed has 659 votes.
In GBA-24 Ghanche-3, complete results from all 46 polling stations show independent candidate Asad Shafiq winning with 8,092 votes, while PPP’s Muhammad Ismail secured 5,072 votes.
