403 Candidates to Contest 24 Seats Across Region
GILGIT: Elections for 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly are scheduled to take place tomorrow, with over 958,000 registered voters set to cast their ballots across the region.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, a total of 958,480 voters are registered to participate in the polls, including 503,772 male and 454,708 female voters.
403 Candidates in the Race
A total of 403 candidates are contesting the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly elections, of whom 396 are male and 8 are female, reflecting a significant gender disparity in electoral participation at the candidate level. Notably, 266 independent candidates are also in the race, contesting from various constituencies across the region — making independents the single largest group on the ballot.
Party-wise Breakdown
Among political parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has fielded the largest contingent with 23 candidates, followed closely by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 22 nominees.
The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) is contesting 15 seats, while Pakistan Muslim League (PML) has put forward 11 candidates. The religious political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) is fielding 9 candidates in the race.
Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) has nominated 7 candidates, while Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) are each contesting with 6 candidates.
A Significant Democratic Exercise
The elections represent one of the most significant democratic exercises in Gilgit-Baltistan’s political history, with multiple mainstream national parties and a large independent contingent vying for control of the 24-seat assembly. The results are expected to shape the region’s legislative and administrative direction for the years ahead.
— GB Tribune