Opposition parties in Pakistan have declared that rigging took place in the Gilgit-Baltistan Elections. Before the polling closed at 5 PM yesterday, Opposition parties had already begun citing rigging as the reason behind their loss.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the PPP chairman, posted on Twitter that his election had been stolen. PPP secured the third-highest seats after independents and the incumbent federal government, PTI.
My election has been stolen. I will be joining the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in their protest shortly.
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) November 16, 2020
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Prime Minister Imran Khan and its allies are set to form a new government for the next five years in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to initial results late Sunday.
Read more: Is Maryam Nawaz going to create unrest in GB after a crushing defeat?
Although Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan told reporters that the election authorities have not officially announced any results, local media and unofficial results showed the PTI and its allies were leading, clinching half of the contested seats.
Official results are expected to be announced Monday as election authorities said they were facing difficulties collecting results from several far-flung mountainous areas due to heavy snow and rain.
According to the initial results, the PTI and its allies are in the lead, with at least 12 of the 24 seats being contested in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly with independents having 7 so far.
At least four independent candidates projected to win are most likely to join the PTI to form the government.
Gligit Baltistan Stands With Kaptaan !
All indicators & enthusiasm on ground show PM @ImranKhanPTI leading by a big margin in #GilgitBaltistan.
InshaAllah #PTI will make GB proud ! #GilgitKaptaanKa pic.twitter.com/QhDaXBcwG4— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) November 11, 2020
The two other main contenders — the center-left Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and center-right Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), which won the 2015 elections in the region — have cried foul, accusing the election authorities of “rigging.”
However, the Chief Election Commissioner denied the charge, advising the opposition parties to contact the commission if there are any irregularities.
Read more: Did Maryam Nawaz use religion card to get votes in Gilgit-Baltistan?
The PPP, which is likely to clinch three to four seats, said its workers had staged a sit-in outside several polling stations where it claimed the results were not being announced in an attempt to favor the PTI candidates.
Several activists and police personnel were injured after PTI and PPP supporters clashed in Skardu district, local broadcaster Geo News.
The PTI’s victory would come as no surprise to many as voters have previously sided with the party that has been in power in Islamabad.
The PPP and the PML-N won the first two elections while in power in Islamabad in 2009 and 2015.
According to election authorities, over 700,000 voters cast ballots for 23 of the 24 seats up for grabs in the region’s Legislative Assembly.
Voting for one seat was postponed after the death of a candidate.
Sheikh Rasheed predicted the opposition’s claims of rigging.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed had made a startling prediction that all opposition leaders’ faces would be wary after Gilgit-Baltistan’s election results.
Sheikh Rasheed had said that they [Opposition leaders] would say that the election was rigged.
“N-League will be shocked,” said Railways Minister in a statement to tv channel on Friday.
The Railways Minister said that PPP played well as compared to PML-N in Gilgit-Baltistan. He said he had no issue with PML-Q.
“These people hang in the middle and have no place for their footing,” said the Federal minister. He said Senate elections would be held next year in March.
He also commented on Maryam Nawaz’s recent statement about dialogue with the establishment, saying that she just shifted away from her previous narrative.
GVS News Desk