Giligit Baltistan elections conclude peacefully as PPP alleges rigging

Polling for 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly ended peacefully on Sunday. The voting took place under tight security arrangements. The elections were delayed by four months due to harsh winter weather. Voting began at 8am and closed at 5pm. No violence was reported. However, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has made several allegations of rigging.

Polling for 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly ended peacefully on Sunday. The voting took place under tight security arrangements. The elections were delayed by four months due to harsh winter weather. Voting began at 8am and closed at 5pm. No violence was reported. However, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has made several allegations of rigging.

The main contenders for the Chief Minister role are PPP’s Amjad Hussain and PML-N’s Hafeezur Rehman. A total of 396 candidates contested the elections. Among them, 266 ran as independent candidates. Only eight women contested. The total number of registered voters was 963,034. That includes 566,097 male voters and 396,937 female voters. The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly has 33 seats in total. Twenty-four are directly elected. Six are reserved for women. Three are reserved for technocrats and professionals. Political parties can nominate candidates for the reserved seats through proportional representation.

As voting closed, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari made a serious allegation. He said the party was not being provided with Form-45. A Form-45 is the result of the vote count. It is prepared by a presiding officer at each polling station. Bukhari said he had contacted the chief election commissioner about the matter. PPP spokesperson Shazia Marri also made allegations. She said voter lists were altered before the election. She said polling stations were changed. She said these actions indicated rigging. The PPP gave one example. It said a polling station in Astore-II’s Bunji area was moved from the roadside to the top of a hill overnight. The party said this was done while voting was already underway.

The PPP said the relocated polling station had 206 registered voters. It claimed the local population strongly supports the PPP. The party said the move was an attempt to affect its vote bank and discourage voters. Residents blocked the Gilgit-Skardu Road to protest. Marri said the PPP would not let anyone steal the public’s mandate. She demanded the Election Commission issue correct results. The PTI, lacking an electoral symbol, has allied with the MWM. Other parties like IPP, PML-Q, and JUI-F are also in the race.

The election is over However, the dispute over results may continue in the days ahead.