PPP claims two seats as early GB election results emerge

GILGIT/SKARDU: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has claimed victory in two GB Assembly seats while an independent candidate secured another, according to initial unofficial results, as vote counting progressed rapidly across Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday night.

The partial returns, coming after day-long polling across 24 contested constituencies, point to early leads for the PPP in several key battlegrounds, though the regional election remains highly fragmented across multiple districts.

A total of 403 candidates contested the election, which saw large queues of voters earlier in the day before polling stations closed at 5pm without any extension.

Early victories

According to unofficial results, PPP’s Muhammad Ali Akhtar won GBA-4 (Nagar-I) with 7,530 votes, defeating Muhammad Ayub Waziri of the Islami Tehreek Pakistan (ITP), who secured 6,491 votes.

In GBA-7 (Skardu-I), PPP’s Syed Touqeer Mehdi won the seat with 4,337 votes, overcoming Raja Jalal Hussain Khan of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), who secured 3,891 votes.

In GBA-24 (Ghanche-III), independent candidate Asad Shafiq secured a decisive victory with 8,092 votes, defeating PPP’s Muhammad Ismail, who finished runner-up with 5,072 votes.

Key trends and unofficial tallies

In constituencies where counting is still under way, mainstream political parties are locked in close contests.

In GBA-1 (Gilgit-I), results from 66 of 80 polling stations showed PPP’s Amjad Hussain leading with 9,271 votes, while PML-N’s Mohammad Shafiquddin was trailing with 4,407 votes.

In GBA-2 (Gilgit-II), results from 27 of 91 polling stations showed PML-N’s Hafeezur Rehman leading with 4,129 votes, ahead of PPP’s Jamil Ahmed, who had secured 2,695 votes.

In GBA-12 (Shigar), results from 35 of 71 polling stations showed PPP’s Imran Nadeem leading with 6,367 votes, while ITP’s Muhammad Azam Khan followed with 3,679 votes.

In GBA-18 (Diamer-IV), results from 28 of 32 polling stations showed PML-N’s Kifayat ur Rehman ahead with 4,068 votes, while IPP’s Gulbar Khan had secured 3,736 votes.

Independent candidates are also showing strong momentum in western districts.

In GBA-21 (Ghizer-III), independent candidate Aman Ali Amir established a significant lead with 7,235 votes from 28 of 60 polling stations, while his closest rival, PPP’s Muhammad Ayub, stood at 3,420 votes.

Similarly, in GBA-23 (Ghanche-II), independent candidate Anwar Ali maintained a comfortable lead with 3,992 votes from 15 of 50 polling stations.

A political bloc or alliance will require a minimum of 17 seats in the 33-member assembly to form a government. Final official tallies for all 24 directly elected seats are expected to be compiled by the Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission by Monday morning.