Voting underway for 24 GB Assembly seats amid tight security

Polling for the 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly is currently underway and will continue until 5:00 PM, according to election authorities.

Polling for the 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly is currently underway and will continue until 5:00 PM, according to election authorities.

Long queues were seen outside several polling stations since early morning, while voter turnout, including women voters, remained active in many areas. However, slow polling was reported at several stations in different parts of Astore during the day, and minor disorder was also witnessed at the Government Girls Model School Eidgah polling station.

In constituency GB-A 10, tension broke out between supporters of two political parties at the Toloki polling station after non-voters attempted to enter the premises. Police said additional forces were deployed and the situation was brought under control.

Overall, more than 400 candidates are contesting for the 24 seats, while 958,480 registered voters are exercising their right to vote. The Election Commission of Pakistan has set up 1,391 polling stations across all districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, including 488 normal, 349 sensitive, and 551 highly sensitive stations.

A total of 403 candidates are participating in the election, including 396 male and 8 female candidates.

Party-wise, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has fielded 23 candidates, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) 22, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party 15, Pakistan Muslim League 11, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) 9 candidates.

Meanwhile, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) has 7 candidates, Jamaat-e-Islami and MQM have 6 candidates each, while 266 independent candidates are also contesting from various constituencies.