Polling for the Gilgit-Baltistan elections on 24 seats concluded peacefully on schedule, with voting continuing uninterrupted from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm across all constituencies.
No major incidents or disruptions were reported during the polling process, and vote counting has now officially begun. A close contest is expected among the PML-N, the PPP, and other political parties. PPP,PML-N and PTI claime that leads in the election According to media reports PPP leads 5 out of 9 seats in Skardu, PMLN and independents leads two seats.
According to unofficial and unverified results, PPP candidate Toqeer Mehdi Shah has been declared successful from GBA-7 Skardu-I, securing 4,337 votes. Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party candidate Raja Jalal stood second with 3,891 votes.
GBA-12 Shigar: In updated combined results from 15 polling stations, PPP’s Imran Nadeem has further strengthened his lead with 2,268 votes. PML-N’s Tahir Shigri remains in second place with 1,067 votes.
GBA-22 Ghanche: According to unofficial and unverified results, PML-N candidate Ibrahim Sanai has been declared successful from GBA-22 Ghanche, securing 12,048 votes. PPP candidate Ashiq Hussain stood second with 9,258 votes.
GBA-23 (Ghanche-II): From 27 polling stations, independent candidate Anwar Ali is leading with 8,237 votes, while independent candidate Haji Abdul Hamid is in second place with 1,507 votes.
GBA-24 Ghanche-III: According to unofficial and unverified results, independent candidate Dr Asad Shafiq has been declared successful, securing 8,092 votes. PPP candidate Engineer Muhammad Ismail stood second with 5,072 votes.
The PPP has fielded 23 candidates, while the PML-N has 22 candidates in the race.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam has fielded 9 candidates, Islami Tehreek Pakistan 10 candidates, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen 7 candidates, and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party 15 candidates. In addition, the Pakistan Nazriyati Party has fielded 10 candidates in the election.
A total of 958,780 registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots, including 503,772 male and over 455,000 female voters. The electorate is choosing representatives from among 396 candidates, with a significant number of independents participating alongside seven women candidates.
However, as the voting closed, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari alleged that the party was not being provided with Form-45. A Form-45 is the result of the vote count prepared by a presiding officer (PO) at each polling station. We have contacted the chief election commissioner and informed him about the matter, Bukhari said in a statement.
Separately, PPP spokesperson Shazia Marri said in a statement that the “delay in the issuance of Form-45 was unacceptable”. She also alleged that voter lists were altered before the election and polling stations were changed, saying that these action indicated rigging. The party added that residents blocked the Gilgit-Skardu Road in protest of this action.
Meanwhile, PPP’s Nadeem Afzal accused the federal government of “electoral engineering”, alleging that two federal ministers present in GB were pressuring the administration and state machinery to influence results. “The presence of Amir Muqam and Aleem Khan in GB and their activities go against the requirements of a fair election,” he added. Similarly, the PTI claimed in a statement that its candidates were leading, according to initial and unofficial results. “PTI candidates were clearly leading until 7pm. However, immediately afterwards, results from certain polling stations began to emerge with suspiciously high turnouts exceeding 80 per cent and individual ballot boxes having 700-800 votes.