The Election Commission of Gilgit-Baltistan has sent the schedule for the upcoming Legislative Assembly elections to the President of Pakistan, proposing that the elections be held on 24 January 2026. According to the notification issued by the Election Commission of GB, candidates will be able to submit their nomination papers from 3 to 8 December, and the initial list of candidates will be released on 9 December. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be completed by 16 December.
The last date for filing objections is 20 December, and decisions on these objections will be announced on 27 December, while the final list of candidates will be issued on 28 December. Nomination papers may be withdrawn on 29 December, and election symbols will be allotted on 30 December 2025. If approved by President Asif Ali Zardari, the elections will be held according to this schedule.
The Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly completed its five-year term on 24 November and was dissolved. Afterward, Justice (R) Yar Muhammad was appointed as the caretaker Chief Minister.
It is noteworthy that out of the 33 seats in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, 24 members are elected directly, while the remaining 9 seats are filled indirectly through special quotas, including 6 for women and 3 for technocrats. Additionally, advisors, special assistants, and coordinators are appointed by the Chief Minister.
Previous Elections
The last elections for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly were held on 18 November 2020, in which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 10 seats, and its ally, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), won 1 seat. In those elections, the PPP won 3 seats, PML-N won 2, and JUI-F won 1, while 7 independent candidates were successful — 6 of whom joined PTI, while Nawaz Khan Naji retained his independent status and sat on the opposition benches.
PTI secured 2 out of 3 technocrat seats and 4 out of 6 women’s seats. PPP received one women’s seat and one technocrat seat, while PML-N received one women’s seat. With a total of 22 seats, PTI succeeded in forming the government, and Khalid Khurshid Advocate became the Chief Minister. He appointed two advisors, three special assistants, and two coordinators to his cabinet.
Collapse of PTI Government
After the ouster of Imran Khan’s government in the federal capital in 2023, the PTI government in Gilgit-Baltistan also began to weaken, and internal party divisions intensified.
PPP’s Ghulam Shehzad Agha challenged Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid’s law degree in court. Judge Ali Baig of the Chief Court formed a larger bench on 29 May and ordered daily hearings with a decision to be made within 14 days.
On 31 May 2023, PTI’s Finance Minister Javed Manwa and Forest Minister Raja Zakaria submitted a motion of no confidence against Speaker Amjad Zaidi. According to them, a 2020 agreement stated Zaidi would step down after 2.5 years and Nazir Ahmed Advocate would become Speaker for the remaining term, but Zaidi allegedly refused. Zaidi denied any such agreement. The no-confidence motion eventually succeeded, and Nazir Ahmed Advocate was appointed Speaker.
On 4 July 2023, the Chief Court disqualified Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid after his degree was proven fake. On the same day, nine opposition members submitted a no-confidence motion against him, but before voting could take place, the court removed him from office.
A session of the Legislative Assembly was scheduled for 5 July 2023, but before it could take place, the police sealed the Assembly building and barred the Deputy Speaker and several members from entering.
Within a week, a forward bloc of PTI members formed under Provincial Health Minister Gulbar Khan, who, along with PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F, demonstrated a majority of 19 members in the 33-seat Assembly, enabling Gulbar Khan to become Chief Minister.
A by-election for seat GBA-13 Astore, vacated after Khalid Khurshid’s disqualification, was held on 10 September, in which Khalid Khurshid’s father, Muhammad Khurshid, won. By that time, however, PTI had already shifted to the opposition in a hybrid Assembly.
After nearly 2.5 years of silence, PTI last month suspended the basic membership of 12 members who had formed the forward bloc in 2023, which enabled the formation of a coalition government with PPP, PML-N, and JUI-F, depriving PTI of power.