Voters head to polls in Gilgit-Baltistan as PPP, PML-N vie for power

Polling began on Sunday morning for 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, with voting running from 8am to 5pm.

The elections were delayed by four months due to harsh winter weather. A total of 396 candidates are contesting the seats across the region's 10 districts.

What are the Gilgit-Baltistan general elections 2026 about?

Voters in Gilgit-Baltistan are choosing representatives for 24 directly contested seats in the provincial assembly. The assembly has 33 seats in total, with six reserved for women and three for technocrats.

Parties nominate candidates for reserved seats through proportional representation based on their share of the direct vote.

Who is contesting the GB elections?

A total of 396 candidates are in the race, with 266 running as independents. Only eight women are contesting, five of them as independents.

PPP has fielded 23 candidates, PML-N 22, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party 15, PML-Q 11, Tehreek-e-Islami Pakistan 10, and Pakistan Nazriyati Party 10. JUI-F has nine candidates, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen seven, and Jamaat-e-Islami and MQM-P six each.

Awami Workers Party has four candidates, while ANP and Sunni Ittehad Council have one each.

The total number of registered voters across the region's 10 districts stands at 963,034, comprising 566,097 male and 396,937 female voters.

Who are the main candidates in the GB elections?

The main contest is between PPP's Advocate Amjad Hussain and PML-N's former chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman. Hussain, who heads the PPP's GB chapter, served in the GB assembly from 2020 to 2025 and in the GB council from 2009 to 2014. He is contesting from GBA-1 (Gilgit).

Rehman, currently president of PML-N's GB chapter, served as chief minister from 2015 to 2020 and as an assembly member from 2004 to 2009. He is contesting from GBA-2 (Gilgit).

What security arrangements are in place for the GB elections?

A total of 6,000 Punjab police personnel and 2,000 from Islamabad police have been deployed across the mountainous region for election duty.

The GB Election Commission has established 1,391 polling stations, of which 551 are categorized as highly sensitive and 349 as sensitive. Diamer district has the highest concentration of highly sensitive stations, with 119 out of its 174 total.

Additional personnel will be deployed at vulnerable locations, with law enforcement agencies and the district administration on high alert throughout polling. GB Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan has delegated first-class magistrate powers to all district returning officers and returning officers to ensure a smooth process. Khan on Saturday urged voters to exercise their democratic right and play a constructive role in maintaining law and order.

What is the political background to the GB elections?

The last GB elections, held on Nov 15, 2020, were won by PTI, which was also in power at the federal level at the time. Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan was later disqualified over an alleged fake degree in July 2023.

A coalition government was subsequently formed by members of PTI, PPP, and PML-N, with Haji Gulbar Khan elected as the new chief minister.

Ahead of the current elections, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif visited Gilgit, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed rallies across several districts.

PTI has decried a lack of a level playing field after its key leaders were expelled from GB on separate occasions and alleged other tactics to obstruct its campaign. The PPP, meanwhile, has raised concerns over the deployment of Punjab police and the participation of federal ministers in the PML-N's campaign.