GB poll dispute sparks third day of protests, Karakoram Highway remains blocked

GILGIT: Protests against repolling orders and delays in the announcement of election results continued across Gilgit-Baltistan for a third consecutive day on Wednesday, with demonstrators blocking the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in Diamer and staging rallies in other parts of the region.

The unrest follows the Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission’s decision to order repolling at selected polling stations in five constituencies — GBA-8 Skardu-II, GBA-13 Astore-I, GBA-15 Diamer-I, GBA-16 Diamer-II and GBA-17 Diamer-III — while directing election officials not to consolidate results until the repolling process is completed.

Supporters of PPP candidate Attaullah, contesting from GBA-16 Diamer-II, continued their sit-in outside the District Returning Officer’s office in Chilas, demanding immediate counting of postal ballots and announcement of final results without conducting fresh polling at three stations.

The protest led to the closure of the Karakoram Highway for a third day, causing significant difficulties for travellers moving between Gilgit-Baltistan and other parts of Pakistan. Although protesters briefly reopened the road for two hours on Wednesday to allow stranded passengers to pass, they vowed to continue demonstrations until what they termed a “transparent declaration of results.”

Speaking to reporters, Attaullah maintained that polling on June 7 had been conducted peacefully in the presence of polling agents and that Forms 45 and 47 had already been prepared.

“Only the counting of postal ballots remains. Delaying this process and ordering repolling is unacceptable under any circumstances,” he said, alleging attempts to overturn the public mandate in the constituency.

According to official figures, independent candidate Imam Malik leads Attaullah by 24 votes based on initial results. However, Attaullah reportedly secured 473 postal ballots compared to Imam Malik’s 180, prompting PPP supporters to claim that their candidate would ultimately win by 269 votes once postal ballots are counted.

Protesters accused the Election Commission of withholding Form 48 and ordering repolling without justification, describing the move as an effort to deprive voters of their mandate.

Similar demonstrations were held outside the Election Commission Secretariat in Gilgit, where PPP workers blocked Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam and demanded immediate consolidation of results after counting postal ballots.

In Ghizer, PPP candidate and incumbent Speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, Nazir Ahmed Advocate, also challenged the election process. Addressing supporters, he alleged that election authorities had announced final results in GBA-20 Ghizer-II without implementing a recount ordered by the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission withdrew its earlier notification ordering repolling at 10 polling stations in GBA-08 Skardu-II after a fact-finding inquiry found no evidence of irregularities.

A notification issued on June 10 stated that polling at the disputed stations had been conducted peacefully and in accordance with the law, with no evidence of violence, intimidation, ballot tampering or any other malpractice that could have affected the results.

The Commission concluded that allegations supporting the repoll request remained unsubstantiated and failed to meet the legal requirements under Section 9 of the Elections Act, 2017.

Following the withdrawal of the repoll order, the Returning Officer declared Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen candidate Kazim Mesum the winner of the constituency.

In a separate development, the Election Commission ordered an inquiry into allegations of polling irregularities and corrupt practices in GBA-09 Skardu-III.

The Commission directed the District Returning Officer in Skardu to investigate claims that polling may have been disrupted by unlawful interference, violence, ballot tampering, or obstruction of polling staff and agents. It also ordered that Form 48 for the constituency remain suspended until the inquiry is completed.

Officials have been asked to submit findings and recommendations on an urgent basis as political tensions continue to rise in the aftermath of the June 7 elections.