Polling for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections is underway, voters have been rushing to various polling stations since morning and people are standing in long queues to cast their votes.
Polling will continue without any break till 5 pm, people are excited on the occasion of the election.
On the other hand, there was a scuffle in Skardu when unrelated people came near the polling station, but the police controlled the situation.
In addition, Chief Election Commissioner Gilgit-Baltistan Raja Shahbaz visited various polling stations and said on this occasion that polling has started on time, people are casting their votes with enthusiasm.
It should be noted that according to the Election Commission, 1391 polling stations have been established in all districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, 349 polling stations have been declared sensitive and 551 highly sensitive.
A total of more than 400 candidates are in the fray for the 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, a total of 958,480 voters will exercise their right to vote.
PPP 23, PML-N 22, Ustad-e-Pakistan Party 15, Pakistan Muslim League 11 and JUI-F 9 candidates are in the fray.
MWM 7, Jamaat-e-Islami and MQM 6 candidates each are in the race, while 266 independent candidates are also contesting from different constituencies.
Foolproof security arrangements have been made to make the elections peaceful. A heavy contingent of local police, GB Scouts and Punjab Police is also present for security, and flag marches were conducted by law enforcement agencies in the constituencies.
Major contests expected in several constituencies in Gilgit-Baltistan general elections
A tough contest is expected in GBA-1 Gilgit between PPP’s Amjad Hussain, PML-N’s Shafiquddin, IPP’s Sultan Raees and independent candidate Asif Usmani. A tough contest is expected in GBA-2 Gilgit between PML-N’s Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman, PP’s Jamil Ahmed, IPP’s Fatehullah and independent candidate Atiq Pirzada.
In GBA-18 Diamer, former Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan and IPP candidate Gulbar Khan is contesting against PML-N’s Kifayat-ur-Rehman.
In GBA-19 Ghizer, independent candidate Nawaz Khan Naji, PP’s Jalal Shah and PML-N’s Zafar Muhammad are the main candidates, similarly, independent candidate Shahida Khurshid, PML-N’s Rana Farman Ali and PPP’s Fahad Hanif are the main candidates.
