Gilgit-Baltistan assembly polls rescheduled for June 7, local body elections on June 14

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission Secretariat has announced a fresh schedule for elections to the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, setting polling for June 7, 2026, in 24 constituencies.

According to an official notification, candidates will be able to file nomination papers from April 16 to April 20, 2026. The commission said the earlier election programme for the general elections to the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly had been withdrawn on December 18, 2025.

The commission stated that under Section 58 of the Elections Act, 2017, it has the authority to issue a new election programme after such a withdrawal. Exercising powers under Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017, it declared June 7, 2026, as the polling date for the assembly elections.

In a formal declaration issued under Sections 57 and 58 of the Elections Act, Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan called on voters in all constituencies to elect their representatives to the general seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.

Election timetable

Under the revised schedule, returning officers will publish public notices on April 14, 2026. Nomination papers will be received from April 16 to April 20, while the initial list of candidates will be issued on April 21.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will continue from April 21 to April 28. Appeals against the decisions of returning officers may be filed by May 2, and appellate tribunals are to decide those appeals by May 9.

A revised list of candidates will be published on May 10, while May 11 has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of candidature. Election symbols will be allotted on May 12, and the final list of candidates will also be issued the same day.

The commission said the election programme would also apply to reserved seats for women and technocrats.

Local government elections

The chief election commissioner also announced that local government elections in Gilgit-Baltistan will be held on June 14, 2026. He said a detailed schedule for those polls would be issued by April 20.

The new announcement lays out the complete sequence for the assembly election process, from the issuance of public notices and submission of nomination papers to scrutiny, appeals, withdrawal of candidature and allotment of symbols, ahead of polling in June.