PPP emerges as largest party in GB elections, coalition government likely

GILGIT: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has emerged as the single largest political party in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly elections, according to unofficial and preliminary results announced on Monday.

The PPP secured victory in 10 of the 24 general seats, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won four seats. Independent candidates claimed seven seats, and the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) secured one seat. Results from two constituencies were still awaited at the time of reporting.

As no party has obtained a simple majority, political sources believe a coalition government between the PPP and PML-N is likely to be formed in the region.

According to sources, the proposed arrangement could follow a model similar to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), with the office of the chief minister expected to go to the PPP, while the governor’s position may be allocated to the PML-N. Ministries could reportedly be distributed under a 60-40 formula between the two parties.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the people of Gilgit-Baltistan for the peaceful conduct of the elections and praised the PPP for emerging as the largest party.

“PPP deserves congratulations for securing the highest number of seats,” the prime minister said, extending his felicitations to President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

He also congratulated the successful PML-N candidates and appreciated the party’s election team for its efforts during the campaign. The premier further commended the Election Commission for ensuring what he described as a transparent and impartial electoral process.

Allegations of irregularities

Meanwhile, the PPP, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) expressed concerns over the transparency of the electoral process, citing delays in result announcements and issues related to the issuance of Form-45.

PPP Central Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari alleged that attempts were being made to alter the public mandate and claimed that results from constituencies including GBA-16 and GBA-17 had been withheld despite the party’s reported victories.

He warned that the PPP would launch protests if any effort was made to manipulate the election outcome and demanded the immediate release of all pending results.

PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira also urged election officials to ensure that the results accurately reflected the people’s vote and advised party workers not to leave polling stations without obtaining Form-45.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan criticised the conduct of the elections, alleging that his party had not been allowed to campaign freely and that several senior leaders had been prevented from participating in election activities.

Speaking on Geo News programme “Naya Pakistan”, Gohar said that all political parties should be allowed to campaign under the Constitution and stressed that whichever party receives the public mandate should have the right to form the government.

Separately, JUI-F leader Abdul Ghafoor Haideri also questioned the credibility of the process, saying delays in announcing results had created doubts about the transparency of the elections. He maintained that public confidence could only be restored through a fair and transparent electoral process.

According to unofficial results, PPP candidate Amjad Hussain won from GBA-1, while independent candidate Syed Sohail Abbas secured victory in GBA-3 Gilgit.

The PPP had fielded the highest number of candidates in the election, with 23 contestants, followed by the PML-N with 22 and 19 independent candidates backed by PTI.