GB election results withheld as re-polling ordered in five constituencies

ISLAMABAD: Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz said on Tuesday that final results for several constituencies have been put on hold until partial re-polling is completed next week.

The decision came after political parties including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) raised concerns about the transparency of the Gilgit-Baltistan elections. They cited delays in the announcement of results, irregularities related to the issuance of Form-45s and alleged attempts to affect outcomes as unofficial results started to surface.

In response, election authorities ordered re-polling at selected polling stations in five constituencies instead of cancelling results for the full seats. Speaking to Geo News, Raja Shahbaz said re-polling would be held on June 15 in the affected polling stations and added that final results for all constituencies would stay suspended until voting is held again in those areas.

According to the chief election commissioner, re-polling will take place at 10 polling stations in GBA-8, one in GBA-13 Astore, one in GBA-15 Diamer-I, three in GBA-16 Diamer-II and 11 in GBA-17 Diamer-III. He also said Form-47s for all constituencies had been finalised, but their issuance would only be completed after the re-polling process ends.

Preliminary outcome

Unofficial and preliminary results showed the Bilawal Bhutto-led PPP emerging as the single largest party in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections by winning 10 of the 24 seats.

According to the unconfirmed figures, the PPP secured GBA-1, GBA-4, GBA-5, GBA-7, GBA-9, GBA-10, GBA-11, GBA-12, GBA-17 and GBA-19. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won four seats in GBA-2, GBA-18, GBA-20 and GBA-22.

Independent candidates won seven constituencies — GBA-3, GBA-6, GBA-15, GBA-16, GBA-21, GBA-23 and GBA-24 — while Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) secured one seat in GBA-8, according to the preliminary and unconfirmed results.

Possible coalition

With no party obtaining a simple majority, sources indicated that a coalition between the PPP and PML-N was likely in Gilgit-Baltistan. According to the same information, the arrangement could resemble a PDM-style formula under which the office of chief minister may go to the PPP, while the governor's position could be given to the PML-N. Ministries in such a setup are expected to be shared under a 60-40 formula between the two parties.

After the preliminary results, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the people of Gilgit-Baltistan on the peaceful conduct of the elections and also felicitated the PPP on emerging as the largest party in the region.