Polling has begun for the general elections on 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Assembly, marking the start of a closely contested electoral battle in the region.
Voting commenced in the morning and will continue uninterrupted until 5pm. A total of 958,480 registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the elections. More than 400 candidates are in the running, with 403 contenders competing for the 24 assembly seats.
A keen contest is expected among several political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), alongside other political groups and independent candidates.
Authorities have put in place stringent security measures across the region to ensure the peaceful conduct of the elections and maintain law and order throughout the polling process.
Gilgit-Baltistan Election 2026: Full Constituency List & Major Candidates Battleground
Key Candidates & Crucial Electoral Battles
To secure a simple majority and independently form the regional government, a political party must hit the magic number of 17 seats. Given the diverse socio-political landscape of the territory, several key matchups are drawing intense scrutiny.
Gilgit Division: The Central Power Corridor
GBA-1 (Gilgit-I): A premier battleground featuring Amjad Hussain Azar, the regional president of the PPP. Azar’s performance carries tremendous weight for the party’s overall standing in the Gilgit division, where he faces a tight challenge from the federal coalition-backed PML-N and an anti-incumbency push from youth-voted independent alignments.
GBA-2 (Gilgit-II): This seat anchors the campaign of former Chief Minister and PML-N regional chief Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman. Rehman is banking heavily on his past infrastructure development record to ward off major pushes from the PPP and local independent blocs.
Baltistan Division: The Battle of Heavyweights
GBA-7 (Skardu-I): A textbook clash of regional political titans. Veteran politician and the first-ever elected Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Syed Mehdi Shah (PPP), faces off in a high-stakes encounter heavily influenced by local community councils.
GBA-8 (Skardu-II): Syed Amjad Ali Zaidi, the former Speaker of the GB Assembly, leads the charge here. Operating as a prominent independent due to the technical landscape shifts governing the PTI ticket layout, Zaidi remains a highly influential grassroots figure against traditional party candidacies.
Nationalist & Tribal Strongholds
GBA-20 (Ghizer-II): Historically independent-minded and detached from federal party waves, this seat centers 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.
Diamer & Astore (GBA-13 to GBA-18): These seats are heavily dictated by local tribal Jirgas (councils) and local alliances. The political footprints of the outgoing setup under Haji Gulbar Khan heavily impact voter splits here, running alongside strong traditional vote-banks held by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F).
Ghanche (GBA-22 to GBA-24): As the center of the Noorbakhshia community, mainstream parties rarely succeed here without community consensus. Political dynamics across these three constituencies rely on endorsements from local religious and social welfare councils.