GILGIT: With political rallies and events of the last few weeks fresh in their minds, the people of Gilgit-Baltistan headed to the polls to elect their third legislative assembly.
According to unconfirmed results, PPP’s Muhammad Ismail is ahead in GBLA-24, Ghanche-III with 6,206 votes. He is followed by PTI’s Shamsuddin who has reportedly secured 5,361 votes.
Muhammad Kazim of Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) – an ally of PTI – won the election in GBLA-8 constituency by bagging 7,534 votes. PPP’s Muhammad Shabbir came second with 7,146 votes.
Meanwhile, in GBLA-7 Skardu-I, PTI’s Zakariya Khan is reportedly leading with 2,635 votes, while PPP’s Syed Mehdi Shah is second with 1,619. In GBLA -12, PTI candidate Raja Azam Khan beat PPP’s Muhammad Tahir Shigir, bagging 7,534 votes.
Independent candidate Wazir Saleem is leading the race with 3,380 votes in GBLA-9 Skardu-III, followed by PTI’s Fida Nashad who secured 1,213 votes. Independent candidate Javed Ali Manwa emerged victorious after bagging 2,570 votes in GBLA-5 election.
In GBLA-22, independent candidate Mustaq Hussain with 6,051 votes managed to beat his rival from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Muhammad Ibrahim Sanai, who could only get 4,945 votes.
Voting process in the region began at 8am and continued until 5pm without any interval. Polling in most constituencies went smoothly throughout the day. A total of 745,361 people registered to vote today, 339,992 of whom are women. Nearly 1,234 polling stations were set up in the 24 constituencies
As many as 330 candidates, including four women, are vying for the 24 general seats in the third legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan. More than 15,000 security personnel from GB, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan were deployed at polling stations.
Surveys by Gallup and Pulse Consultant revealed a close contest between the PTI and the PPP, while the PML-N comes third. The surveys found PM Imran Khan as the most popular leader in GB followed by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Nawaz Sharif. Respondents of the survey, around 30% of them, believe elections will be transparent and free from the rigging.
When asked about which political party they would vote for on 15th Nov (the Election Day), 27% of the Gallup respondents said they would vote for the PTI, 24% said the PPP, and 14% said they would vote for the PML-N.
On the other hand, 35% of the Pulse Consultant respondents said they would vote for the PTI, 26% said the PPP and 14% said the PML-N. Gallup survey revealed there is a gap of only 3% between the PTI and the PPP as the first choice of voters.
However, in the Pulse survey, the gap between the two leading parties is 9% but the trend is the same — the PTI is the first choice, PPP the second one and the PML-N has been selected by voters as the third choice.
Gallup Pakistan's survey has shown that the upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan will be very closely contested between the PTI and PPP. The survey shows PTI ahead of the PPP, while the PML-N has been placed at the third position
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— Gallup Pakistan (@GallupPak) November 11, 2020
