This Article is updated by Faisal Malik
Voting in the Gilgit-Baltistan elections ended at 5 PM today.
ARY News confirmed polling began for the general elections on 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly in the morning and continued uninterrupted until 5 PM.
Counting is now underway across all 24 constituencies. Early trends are expected tonight but official results may take one to two days.
What We Know So Far
ARY News confirmed a total of 958,480 registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots, with 403 contenders competing for the 24 assembly seats.
Wikipedia’s GB election record confirmed 1,368 polling stations were established across the region, of which 551 were declared highly sensitive. The registered voter breakdown was 503,772 men and 454,708 women.
This was already an election worth watching closely — as we noted in our earlier GB elections preview article.
No Party Expected to Win Outright
Pakistan Times’ live election tracker confirmed that with 403 candidates, 24 constituencies, and a highly divided political field, the final outcome remains open and is expected to depend heavily on post-election alliances.
ARY News’ constituency guide confirmed that to secure a simple majority and independently form the regional government, a political party must hit the magic number of 17 seats. Given the fragmented field, that looks unlikely for any single party.
The main competition is between PML-N, PPP, and PTI-backed independents. Wikipedia confirmed PTI members ran as independent candidates because the Election Commission Gilgit-Baltistan prohibited the PTI election symbol, which the Supreme Court of Pakistan affirmed.
The Key Seats to Watch Tonight
As counting begins, here are the constituencies that will tell us which way this election is going:
- GBA-2 (Gilgit-II): ARY News confirmed this seat anchors the campaign of former Chief Minister and PML-N regional chief Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman. The most competitive constituency in the election with around 40 candidates.
- GBA-7 (Skardu-I): Veteran politician and the first-ever elected Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah (PPP) faces off in a high-stakes encounter heavily influenced by local community councils.
- GBA-20 (Ghizer-II): This seat centres on veteran nationalist leader Nawaz Khan Naji of the Balawaristan National Front (BNF-Naji). Naji’s deep-rooted localized influence makes him a distinct powerhouse in the Ghizer valley.
ThePenPK’s live results tracker is tracking early trends across all 24 constituencies as counting begins — check there for the first numbers coming out of polling stations tonight.
What Happens Next
Vote counting has begun. Initial trends should start appearing later this evening. Pakistan Times confirmed official results could take 24 to 48 hours.
24PakTimes will publish a full results article with seat-by-seat numbers as soon as official or verified unofficial results are available. We will not publish unverified numbers.
