GILGIT: Fate of the much-awaited local government elections and general elections hangs in the balance even four months after the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly completed its tenure, as the election commission has yet to announce a timeline while several parties fear both polls might be delayed till September.
Local bodies elections — announced after a 20-year gap — were set for Feb 14, while general elections for the GB Assembly were scheduled for Jan 24, but both were postponed indefinitely due to harsh weather conditions in the region.
GB Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shehbaz Khan, when contacted on Saturday, said the commission would inform the public of the new dates when decided. He asserted that the electoral watchdog was preparing to conduct the elections, but had not yet decided on a date.
The caretaker government had planned to convene a multiparty conference on March 24 for consultation on the polls and a new schedule was expected to be issued towards the end of March.
Uncertainty deepens as election schedule awaited; PPP seeks immediate announcement of timeline
When contacted by Dawn, GB’s caretaker Information Minister Ghulam Abbas said the announcement of the election schedule was GB election commission’s mandate and the caretaker set-up was supposed to only facilitate and support the commission for “transparent, free and fair” elections.
Mr Abbas said the election schedule would be announced by the CEC, though he was not sure when.
According to the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order, 2018, elections must be held within 60 days following the completion of the assembly’s tenure. The GB Assembly had completed its five-year tenure on Nov 24, 2025, while the last general elections were held on Nov 15, 2020.
The PPP’s GB chapter demanded that the regional CEC formally announce the general election schedule immediately so that the political system could “function as per the constitutional requirements”.
In a statement, the party said that the weather has improved and security situation in the region was “very encouraging” due to the efforts of the PPP leadership and other stakeholders. “All political parties, including the PPP, demand that the election schedule be announced and the constitutional requirement be met by holding transparent and impartial elections on time,” the PPP added.
Fears, political fallout
All political parties are uncertain about the conduct of the elections before June. It has been agreed that conducting elections during Muharram, which will fall in June and July, or during other religious days such as Chehlum of Imam Hussain, is not possible. Therefore, delaying elections until June may in effect cause them to be delayed till September, the parties fear.
Sources said the local chapter of the ruling PML-N was not in favour of conducting the elections anytime soon due to the political fallout of the current global situation, particularly after the fuel price hike and related issues.
However, most other parties claim that people had been facing multiple issues in the absence of their representation in the assembly while legislative business had also been pending for many months.
On the other hand, sources said the GB caretaker government fears further protests leading to a law and order situation if after the completion of a judicial probe, action was taken against the anti-war protesters.
Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2026
