Polling Ends in Gilgit-Baltistan Elections, Vote Counting Underway as Results Begin to Emerge
Islamabad (Qudrat Daily) – Polling for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections concluded at 5:00 pm on Sunday after voting began at 8:00 am across 24 constituencies. The vote-counting process is now underway, and initial results have started to emerge.
Chief Election Commissioner of Gilgit-Baltistan, Raja Shahbaz Khan, visited various polling stations to review the electoral process, security arrangements, and the overall polling environment.
The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly consists of 33 seats, including 24 directly elected members, six seats reserved for women, and three seats allocated for technocrats.
To form a government, a political party or coalition requires a simple majority of 17 seats.
A total of 23 candidates from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), 22 from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), 15 from the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), 11 from the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), and nine from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) are contesting the elections.
In addition, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) has fielded seven candidates, while Jamaat-e-Islami and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have each nominated six candidates. The electoral race also includes 266 independent candidates and seven female candidates.
According to election officials, the total number of registered voters stands at 958,780, including 503,772 male voters and 454,708 female voters.
With polling now complete, attention has shifted to the counting process as political parties and independent candidates await the official results that will determine the future composition of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.
