Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz announced on Tuesday that the final election results for several constituencies would be withheld until partial re-polling, scheduled for next week, is completed. This decision follows concerns raised by multiple political parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), regarding the transparency of the electoral process in Gilgit-Baltistan.
These parties highlighted issues such as delays in result announcements, irregularities in the issuance of Form-45s, and attempts to manipulate outcomes as unofficial results began to circulate. In response, election authorities mandated re-polling at specific polling stations across five constituencies: GBA-8, GBA-13 Astore, GBA-15 Diamer-I, GBA-16 Diamer-II, and GBA-17 Diamer-III, opting for targeted re-polling rather than annulling entire constituency results.
Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz confirmed that re-polling would take place on June 15 at the affected polling stations. He emphasized that the final results for all constituencies would remain suspended until the voting process in these areas is completed. Specifically, re-polling will be conducted in 10 polling stations in GBA-8, one in GBA-13 Astore, one in GBA-15 Diamer-I, three in GBA-16 Diamer-II, and 11 in GBA-17 Diamer-III.
Shahbaz also noted that Form-47s for all constituencies have been finalized, but their official issuance will only occur after the re-polling concludes. Meanwhile, the PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto, has emerged as the largest party in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections based on unofficial and preliminary results, securing 10 out of 24 seats.
these preliminary figures, the PPP won in constituencies GBA-1, GBA-4, GBA-5, GBA-7, GBA-9, GBA-10, GBA-11, GBA-12, GBA-17, and GBA-19. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured four seats, winning GBA-2, GBA-18, GBA-20, and GBA-22. Independent candidates collectively claimed seven constituencies, including GBA-3, GBA-6, GBA-15, GBA-16, GBA-21, GBA-23, and GBA-24, while the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) won one seat in GBA-8.
With no party obtaining an outright majority, indications suggest a coalition government between the PPP and PML-N is likely to be formed in Gilgit-Baltistan. The coalition arrangement is expected to resemble the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) model, where the PPP might hold the chief minister’s position and the PML-N could be allotted the governor’s post. The ministries in this proposed government are anticipated to be divided on a 60-40 basis between the two parties.
Following the release of preliminary results, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the people of Gilgit-Baltistan for the peaceful conduct of the elections and commended the PPP for emerging as the largest party in the region.
