The Election Commission of Gilgit-Baltistan has officially declared that the general elections for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly will be conducted on June 7, 2026. Voting will take place throughout the mountainous region on this confirmed date.
This announcement comes after earlier indications that the elections were likely to be held in early June. The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly had been dissolved on November 24, 2025, with elections originally planned for January 24, 2026. However, these were deferred due to harsh winter weather conditions affecting the area.
Authorities have now finalized June 7 as the new polling day, and an updated election schedule is expected to be released shortly. This election will mark the fourth since the implementation of the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order of 2009, which granted the region a measure of political autonomy.
Since the 2009 order, the Pakistan People’s Party formed the first regional government. The 2015 elections saw the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz come to power, with Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman completing a full term. In 2020, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won the elections, but political shifts followed the disqualification of then-Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid. Subsequently, a coalition of aligned members formed the government, which served until November 2025.
In a significant development, this announcement paves the way for a new political contest in this strategically vital region as it prepares for the upcoming electoral cycle.
