[News] Polling is in Progress in Gilgit-Baltistan

GB TIME-Gilgit: The polling for the newly-reformed Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) is going on since early morning today and the first votes were casted at 9:00 AM which will continue till 4:00 PM. In the Gilgit City, Hunza, Ghakuch, Skardu and Chilas the main city centres of the Gilgit-Baltistan as well as in the rural areas people people are coming to vote enthusiastically and turn-out is expected to be more than 70%.

There are a total number of 256 candidates for 23 seats of legislative assembly where as there are a total of 24 seats on Ghizer 1 jurisdiction elections are postponed due to death of once the contesting candidate.

There are a total of 700,000 registered votes and 1000 polling stations out ofwhich 200 have been declared sensitive and 5000 law enforcement personnel have been deputed across the regions.

Chief Election Commissioner for Gilgit-Baltistan Rahim Nawaz Durrani who belongs to Punjab and has been appointed in Gilgit-Baltistan just weeks before the election in by replacing Mr. Taj who belongs to Gilgit-Baltistan and was serving as Chief Election Commissioner, said that all arrangement are completed and there would be a trouble free elections.   

The 256 candidates for 23 seats of GBLA belongs to all major political parties of Pakistan such as PPP, PML-N, MQM, PML-Q, ANP, JUI, JI, PTI, Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Alliance (GBDA), BNF in total party ticket holder are 91 candidates and 165 independent candidates.

The opposition member and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan accaused PPP to open is the government’s coffer for rigging the elections and tremed the elections fraud. The government benches defended and said there would be free and fair election in the Gilgit-Baltistan.