People across GB head to polling stations as 24 seats up for grabs
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Residents of Gilgit-Baltistan are heading to polling stations across the region as they vote for 24 seats of the legislative assembly. The general elections for Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly are taking place after a four-month delay, which was attributed to harsh winter weather. The voting process in the region began at 8am on Sunday and is set to conclude at 5pm. The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly has a total of 33 seats — 24 of which are contested through direct elections, six are reserved for women, and three are reserved for technocrats and professionals. Political parties can nominate candidates for the reserved seats through proportional representation. A total of 396 candidates are contesting the elections, with 266 running as independents. Only eight women are contesting the elections, five of them as independent candidates. The total number of registered voters in the region’s 10 districts is 963,034, including 566,097 male and 396,937 female voters. GB Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan visited various polling stations across Gilgit city to review the polling process, security arrangements and the overall electoral environment. He also inspected the facilities and arrangements provided to voters at the polling stations and met polling agents representing different candidates. Speaking to PTV News, Khan noted that he has so far visited around 10 polling stations, where security arrangements were satisfactory. He said women were turning out in large numbers to cast ballots, which reflected strong public awareness about the importance of exercising their democratic right. He added that all political parties were participating peacefully in the electoral process. GB Caretaker Interior Minister Sajid Ali Baig said he visited various polling stations, where the overall environment remains peaceful. According to APP, he told a local media outlet that there were public demands for further deployment of police forces in some areas for smooth and