G-B Election Commission seeks assets’ detail from lawmakers

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Election Commission has asked lawmakers to submit their statements of assets and liabilities for the financial year 2023-2022, ending on June 30.

According to the G-B Election Commission, under Clause 137, Subsection 1 of the Election Act 2017, each member of the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly is required to submit Form B annually, detailing the assets of themselves, their spouses, and dependent children to the office of the Election Commission in Gilgit by or before December 31, 2023.

The G-B Election Commission has warned that failure to comply with the order by the specified deadline will result in the disqualification of the assembly members. It was also noted that the names of members who fail to submit their statements on time will be publicly disclosed through a press release on January 1.

Former G-B CM Khalid Khursheed disqualified for life

The commission has already informed all assembly members to fill out and submit their forms. In line with this, the Secretary of the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly has also been sent the relevant forms to facilitate the members in completing and submitting their documentation on time.

The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly is a 33-seat legislative body comprising 24 elected seats, with an additional six seats reserved for women and three seats reserved for Technocrats and Professionals. However, the GBLA-13 Astore-1 seat is currently vacant. It was vacated after the disqualification of former CM Khalid Khursheed.

In the by-election held in September, PTI’s Khurshid Khan won the seat, but the G-B Chief Election Commissioner halted the announcement of official results in response to complaints lodged by contesting candidates, alleging some irregularities. The official result is still pending.