–Two former chief ministers lose in their constituencies; three candidates denied tickets by PTI succeed in polls
–Citizens of the autonomous region brave freezing temperature to line up outside polling stations to exercise their right to vote
GILGIT/ISLAMABAD: Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) voted for its third legislative assembly on Sunday as polling opened at 8 am and continued till 5 pm, following which unofficial results started coming in.
In an interesting development, two former chief ministers of the autonomous region, PPPs Syed Mehdi Shah and Hafeezur Rehman of the PML-N, both lost their seats in the election.
According to unofficial results that came in till the time of filing of this story, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates secured seven constituencies, including GBLA-7 Skardu-1, GBLA-11 Kharmang, GBLA-12 Shigar, GBLA-Hunza, GBLA-14 Astore –II, GBLA-15 Astore-I and GBLA-18 Diamer-IV, while it’s candidates were in a leading position in three other constituencies as well.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has so far secured four seats in GBLA-1 Gilgit-1, GBLA-II, Gilgit-2, GBLA-24 Ghanche-III and GBLA-4, Nagar-I while the party is reportedly leading in remaining two other constituencies as well. PPP GB President and candidate Amjad Hussain Advocate managed to win from two constituencies — GBA-1 Gilgit-1 and GBA-4 Nagar-1. It is for the time that any candidate has won two seats in the election history of GBA.
In nine constituencies of Baltistan, at least four Independent candidates have succeeded in GBLA-10, Skardu-4, GBLA-22 Ghanche-I, GBLA-23 Ghanche-II and GBLA-5 Nagar.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which ruled the autonomous region from 2015 to 2020, could secure only one seat in GBLA-16 Diamer-II.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) could also get just one seat in GBLA-15 where its candidate defeated candidates of PTI, and PPP.
The results of five constituencies are still awaited which include three from district Ghizer, one from Diamer and another one from Skardu-3. In GBA-19 Ghizer-1, well-known nationalist leader and independent candidate Nawaz Khan Naji is leading with 5064 while PPP candidate Syed Jalal is competing with 3366.
According to details available with Pakistan Today, PML-N’s Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, who completed his five-year term in June this year, lost the seat in GBLA-2, Gilgit-2, as he could only secure 4,535 votes against the 5,578 votes secured by Jamil Ahmed of PPP. Hafeez was in third position as Fathullah Khan of PTI secured 5,069 votes.
Moreover, results from the GBA-5, Nagar-II, constituency show that independent candidate Javed Ali Manwa, the nephew of former minister late Mirza Hussain, won with 2,443 votes. Independent candidate Zulfiqar Ali Murad came second with 2,122 votes while Rizwan Ali of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) got 1,766 votes. Mirza Hussain of PPP obtained 604 votes and Sajjad Hussain of PML-N got 163 votes.
Former chief minister Syed Mehdi Shah of PPP, who was contesting election against PTI candidate Raja Zakaryia in GBA -7, Skardu-1, could secure only 4,114 votes against his opponent who secured 5,290 votes who won with 5,290 votes. Muhammad Akbar of PML-N got 196 votes.
Furthermore, independent candidate Mushtaq Hussain from Ghanchey won GBA-22, securing 6,051 votes while PTI’s Ibrahim Sanai bagged 4,945 votes.
The results so far show PTI’s Muhammad Ayub was leading in GBA-4, while PTI’s Abaidullah Baig has secured the most votes at a polling station in GBA-6.
Meanwhile, MWM’s Muhammad Kazim won in GBA-8, while independent Wazir Muhammad Saleem leads the polls in GBA-9. PTI’s Raja Azam Khan won in GBA-11 with 538 votes so far, while Imran Nadeem of the PPP lost in GBA-12.
GBA-13 Astore-1, PTI’s Khalid Khurshid Khan won the seat by securing 4836 votes while the runner-up and PML-N Rana Farman Ali secured 3528 votes.
GBA-5 Nagar 2, independent candidate and PTI renegade Javed Ali Manwa has reportedly won the seat by securing 2240.
Interestingly, three independent candidates, who were denied tickets by PTI, succeeded in securing their seats in the election against the ‘electables’ who were granted tickets by the ruling party.
Raja Nasir Ali Khan in GBLA-10 Skardu-4, Javed Manwa of Nagar-5 and Mushtaq of GBLA-22 Ganche-1 were denied the tickets as PTI preferred electables of other parties.
In the two constituencies PTI had given tickets to electables Ibrahim Sanai (former minister of PML-N) and Wazir Hassan (former minister PPP) while on the third one, the party had made seat adjustment with MWM candidate, Haji Rizwan, who was initially also denied a ticket by the ruling party.
The three successful candidates Raja Nasir, Javed Manwa and Mushtaq had earlier joined PTI but decided to contest election as independent candidates after the party denied tickets.
Meanwhile, GB Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan had expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made to ensure smooth polling process and security of voters.
He expressed his views during his visit to various polling stations in Gilgit on Sunday. “We all have to ensure peaceful polling in GB,” he said.
Khan telephoned the GB chief secretary to discuss the law and order situation during ongoing general elections in the region. Both officials discussed the process of polling and the situation of the sensitive polling stations in the region. The GB CS apprised the CEC that polling is underway in a peaceful manner in Diamer and other sensitive declared polling stations.
Earlier in the day, PPP stalwart Senator Sherry Rehman said that any attempt to deprive women of their right to vote in the GB polls is unacceptable, adding that she was “deeply concerned” over the “deliberate restrictions on women’s voting” in the election.
The PPP leader had called for GB CEC to immediately intervene and resolve the issue. She also voiced worry over purported rigging at the polling stations, alleging that the observers associated with the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), a non-profit NGO, were removed from polling stations.
“FAFEN observers should be at the polling stations during the counting of votes” and “should be permitted to remain at the polling stations”, she said, adding that there were 600 observers.
“The absence of observers at the polling station raises questions about the transparency of the election,” she said, warning that such incidents could damage the credibility of the election.
On the other hand, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, in a statement, also called on the Election Commission to “make the process of voting and counting of votes transparent”.
Maryam had praised the people of GB for weathering the cold temperatures to vote. “The wholehearted participation of women in the Gilgit Baltistan Election 2020 is welcome,” she said.
A total of 745,361 registered voters in the region were expected to cast their votes at 1,160 polling stations set up across the region. A total of 330 candidates in 23 out of 24 constituencies contested the elections. Polling in one constituency has been postponed. Meanwhile, more than 15,000 security personnel from GB, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh and Balochistan are deployed at their respective polling stations across GB.
Voters were seen lining up outside polling stations to cast their ballot despite the temperature dropping as low as minus six degrees centigrade in some areas of the region due to the season’s first snowfall coupled with cold winds.
The harsh weather could not dampen voters’ enthusiasm as people came out of their homes in trickles and droves to exercise their right to franchise in GB third election since the region was given the power to elect their representatives in 2009.
It is noteworthy that a 98-year-old resident of Nagar in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Nagar District, Sha’aban Ali, arrived at the Jafarabad 21 polling station to cast his vote despite the freezing temperatures and mobility issues.
Meanwhile, #Balaypethappa became the top trend on Twitter in Pakistan with more than 20,000 tweets during ongoing GB elections.
Over half of the polling stations had been categorised sensitive. Out of 1,141 polling stations, 577 had been declared sensitive and 297 highly sensitive.
The main contenders were the PTI, PPP, PML-N, which won the 2015 elections in the region. The first two elections were won by the PPP and the PML-N, respectively.
GB, which borders Afghanistan and China, is the gateway of the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure plan. But the region has so far reaped few rewards.
A recent Gallup survey unveiled Prime Minister Imran Khan was the most popular leader in the region followed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.
Around 30 per cent of voters believed elections will be transparent and free of rigging, the survey said. When asked about which political party they would vote for on the election day, 27 per cent of respondents said that they would vote for PTI, 24 per cent for PPP and 14 per cent for PML-N.
Commenting on the findings of the survey, PM Imran earlier this week expressed satisfaction and hoped his party will succeed in making its government in the region.
Opposition parties, mainly the PPP and the PML-N, accused the government of pre-poll rigging after the premier announced to integrate the administrative unit into the country as its fifth province “keeping in view the UN Security Council resolutions” in a visit earlier this month.
Addressing a gathering in Gilgit, the prime minister had said that his government took the decision keeping in view the “long-standing demand of the people of the region”.
The announcement came a year after India changed the status of the portion of occupied Kashmir, taking away some of the region’s privileges. India rejects the government’s plan to change GB’s status, and it calls the elections an exercise to “cover-up Pakistan’s occupation” of the region.
PM Imran’s plan is not the first time locals have heard promises of being granted constitutional rights: in 2016 then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif proposed to make GB a province as well but shelved plans after pro-Pakistan leaders in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) denounced the decision.
Formerly known as the Northern Areas, GB is located at the confluence of the world’s greatest mountain ranges – the Karakoram, the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush and the Pamir.
Before the end of British colonial rule and the creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, the region was part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rich in history, culture and natural beauty, the area, which also remained a centre of rivalries between Russian, British, and Chinese empires, has been a cynosure for trekkers and adventure tourists for centuries.
With additional reporting by Mian Abrar.
