GB election chief decides 14 petitions, defers rulings on Astore and Diamer seats

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan on Monday announced decisions on 14 election petitions, while reserving final rulings in the disputed GBA-13 Astore-I and GBA-16 Diamer-II constituencies until June 17.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Khan said the validity of Form 47 results had been upheld and that decisions in the two remaining cases would be issued on Tuesday, after which results in the other constituencies would be finalised. He also said attempts had been made on social and mainstream media to cast doubt on the GB Assembly elections, but maintained that the Election Commission had handled the process in line with the law and the Election Act 2017.

According to the Election Commission, voter turnout in the GB Assembly elections reached 70 per cent, which Mr Khan said reflected strong public trust in the democratic process. He noted that under the Election Act 2017, official results are generally required to be issued within 14 days of polling, but added that petitions and electoral disputes in some constituencies had delayed the process.

Mr Khan said 16 of the 24 constituencies have so far had consolidated final results issued through Form 49. Based on the available standings, PPP is leading with 10 seats, followed by PML-N with five, independent candidates with four, PTI-backed candidates with two and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) with one seat.

He further said earlier orders for re-polling at various polling stations in several constituencies, including GBA-8 Skardu-II, GBA-15 Diamer-I and GBA-17 Diamer-III, as well as in the two pending constituencies, had been suspended.

Dispute over Diamer-II

Tension persisted in GBA-16 Diamer-II, where supporters of independent candidate Imam Malik blocked the Karakoram Highway in Chilas after the suspension of an earlier order for re-polling at three polling stations. They demanded fresh polling at certain stations and alleged that the latest decision had been shaped by political pressure.

At the same time, supporters of PPP candidate Attaullah held a sit-in outside the district returning officer’s office in Chilas, calling for postal ballots to be counted immediately and for the result to be finalised without re-polling.

According to the PPP side, there were discrepancies in postal ballot figures and election forms. They said Form 47 showed independent candidate Imam Malik ahead by 24 votes, while official figures reflected different postal ballot counts. They also said that under Form 48, PPP candidate Attaullah was leading by 269 votes.

The Election Commission had earlier ordered re-polling at three polling stations in GBA-16 Diamer-II on a petition filed by Imam Malik and had paused issuance of Form 48. PPP candidate Attaullah challenged that move, after which the chief election commissioner reserved his verdict for June 17.

Local government polls postponed

Mr Khan also announced that local government elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, which had originally been scheduled for Aug 2, had been postponed until Sept 27 following formal requests from religious organisations.

According to Mr Khan, the groups asked the commission not to hold the elections during Muharram and Chehlum Imam Hussain. He said the deadline for submission of nomination papers had now been set for Aug 10.

The local government elections, the first in more than 20 years, are to be held across 1,343 wards. Mr Khan said the polls would be conducted on a party basis, with no independent candidates allowed, and that contestants must be at least 25 years old.