Unofficial GB election results start to trickle in, PPP claims victory in one constituency

GILGIT/SKARDU: Early unofficial results from Gilgit-Baltistan’s regional elections on Sunday night showed a highly fractured field, with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) claiming to secure an early seat victory while independent candidates and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) locked in tight battles across the territory.

Counting of votes is under way across Gilgit-Baltistan after polling concluded for 24 assembly seats on Sunday evening.

The voting process began at 8am and closed at 5pm without any extension. Heavy turnouts of both male and female voters were recorded at more than 1,000 polling stations across the territory.

According to unofficial and unconsolidated result, PPP candidate Syed Touqeer Mehdi won the GBA-7 (Skardu-I) constituency, securing 4,337 votes to defeat Raja Jalal Hussain Khan of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), who finished second with 3,891 votes.

The vote count across the mountainous territory’s 24 contested seats began immediately after polling stations closed at 5pm.

 total of 403 candidates contested the polls, which were monitored by over 15,000 security personnel.

Close Contests in key districts

Partial tallies released unofficially indicated razor-thin margins in several pivotal battlegrounds, particularly in the Gilgit and Astore districts.

GBA-1 (Gilgit-I)

With 28 of 80 polling stations results out, PPP’s regional chief Amjad Hussain was leading with 3,600 votes against PML-N’s Mohammad Shafiquddin, who held 2,300 votes.

GBA-2 (Gilgit-II)

Former Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman of the PML-N was leading with 4,129 votes from 27 of 91 polling stations, ahead of PPP’s Jamil Ahmed with 2,695 votes.

GBA-13 (Astore-I)

PML-N’s Rana Farman Ali held a narrow lead with 4,368 votes over PTI-backed independent candidate Shahida Khurshid, who had 4,312 votes, with 36 of 57 stations counted.

GBA-14 (Astore-II)

PML-N’s Rana Muhammad Farooq was marginally ahead with 3,390 votes against IPP’s Shamsul Haq Lone, who followed closely with 3,383 votes after 24 of 51 stations counted.

A massive field of 266 independent candidates — many backed by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which was barred from using its party bat symbol — has split the vote significantly, opening up paths for smaller regional factions.

In the Skardu and Baltistan regions, the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), which formed a pre-poll alliance with PTI-backed candidates, showed early leads.

In GBA-8 (Skardu-II), MWM’s Muhammad Kazim was leading with 1,228 votes, while in GBA-10 (Skardu-IV), MWM’s Mushtaq Hussain led with 1,059 votes in early counts.

In Ghizer district, independent candidates and the PML-N appeared to be marginalizing mainstream rivals.

Independent Safdar Ali Shirazi led in GBA-20 with 1,530 votes, while independent Aman Ali led in GBA-21 with 2,040 votes over the PML-N.

A single party or a post-election coalition must secure 17 seats to form a simple majority in the 33-member regional assembly.

The 24 directly elected seats will determine the proportional allocation of nine additional seats reserved for women (six) and technocrats (three).

The Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission stated that while partial counts are being publicized locally by individual presiding officers, complete official results for all 24 constituencies will be finalised by Monday morning.

Earlier, the PPP accused federal authorities and election officials of “engineering” results in Gilgit-Baltistan’s elections, warning that an unusual delay in the release of Form 45 is threatening the credibility of the democratic process.

Shazia Marri, a central spokesperson for the PPP, said on Sunday that the failure to provide ‘Form 45’ — the primary document containing the final vote tally from individual polling stations — to party agents was “unacceptable” and pointed toward systemic rigging.

“The extraordinary delay in results is giving rise to serious doubts,” Marri said in a statement. “Attempts to change the public mandate through administrative pressure will not be tolerated.”

The allegations come as counting continues across the 24 constituencies of G-B. PPP leaders claimed that administrative hurdles were placed throughout the day to disenfranchise voters.

Marri alleged that polling stations in areas like Bunji, in the Astore district, were moved to difficult mountainous terrain at the last minute, preventing thousands of women and elderly voters from reaching the booths.

Senior PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan accused two federal ministers, Amir Muqam and Aleem Khan, of being present in Gilgit to exert pressure on the local administration to alter results in favor of government-aligned candidates.

“Two federal ministers are pressuring the administration to influence the outcome,” Chan said. “Stealing the mandate of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan through such tactics will only damage the reputation of the entire electoral system.”

PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari said that he had formally contacted the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after party workers were reportedly forced out of polling stations during the counting process without receiving certified result sheets.

Election commission response

In response to the mounting criticism, G-B Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan issued a late-night directive to all 24 returning officers (ROs), ordering them to ensure that presiding officers provide certified copies of Form 45 to all polling agents immediately.

“The provision of Form 45 must be ensured in strict accordance with the Election Act and Rules 2017,” the CEC stated.

Earlier in the day, the CEC had lauded the peaceful conduct of the polls, noting that turnout had been strong across the region’s 10 districts. He maintained that over 15,000 security personnel had successfully prevented any major outbreaks of violence.