The 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections were held on 15 November 2020.[3][4][5][6] Elections were held in 24 constituencies, each electing one member to the 3rd Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.[7][8] 330 candidates contested these elections,[9] either representing one of the political parties of Gilgit-Baltistan[9] (at the time of the 2020 elections) or being an independent candidate.
The elections were originally scheduled to be held on 18 August 2020,[10][11] but were postponed in July[12][13] due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected Gilgit-Baltistan.
Opinion polling taken before the election had shown the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the ruling party prior to the 2020 election, being the third-most-popular political party in Gilgit-Baltistan, falling from its earlier position of making the province's government and having the largest vote-bank. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which ruled nationally, led in the polls and the Pakistan Peoples Party had been shown as the second-most-popular political party.
745,362 voters in Gilgit-Baltistan had the ability to exercise their right to vote in the elections and will be able to vote across nearly 1,234 polling places across the province. This showed an increase of 126,998 new voters since 2015, when only 618,364 people were registered to vote. 405,365 of the people registered to vote are male and 339,997 are female (which shows a gender gap of 9%).[2][16][17]
The elections were postponed in the constituency GBA-3 (Gilgit-III), due to the PTI candidate in that constituency, who was the provincial party leader, dying of COVID-19 in early October. The election there were held on November 22, seven days after the election throughout the rest of Gilgit-Baltistan.[18][1]
In late November 2020, the final results revealed that the PTI won a two-thirds majority of seats (22 of 33). The PPP and PML-N won five and three seats, respectively. [19][20]
Full results by districts were published on November 24. The latter two parties made claims of election fraud and supporters staged demonstrations to protest against the alleged rigging. [21]
This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2022)
April 30, 2020: The Supreme Court of Pakistan allows the federal government to form a caretaker government in late June 2020 and hold a general election in Gilgit-Baltistan less than sixty days after the formation of the caretaker government.[24][25]
June 27, 2020: The President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi releases a statement scheduling the date August 18, 2020 to be the date of polling in the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election.[10][11]
July 2, 2020: An election schedule is issued by the Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission confirming August 18, 2020 to be the date of polling.[13]
July 11, 2020: The Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission postpones the upcoming election and suspends the previously published schedule in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. New dates of polling in October 2020 are deliberated upon.[12][13]
September 23, 2020: The President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi gives approval to the proposed polling date of November 15, 2020 for the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election.[3][4]
September 24, 2020: A detailed election schedule is issued by the Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission confirming the new date of polling, November 15, 2020.[5][6]
October 3, 2020: The Caretaker Chief Minister of Gilgit-BaltistanMir Afzal states that the Pakistan military's help will not be required in holding free and fair elections throughout Gilgit-Baltistan.[14][15]
October 19, 2020: The final revised list of the candidates running in each constituency is published by the Election Commission of Gilgit-Baltistan.[6][9]
October 20, 2020: Election Symbols are allotted to political parties and candidates.[6][9]
November 13, 2020: Official electoral rolls[2] and lists of polling stations[29] are released.
The table below lists the ten political parties that fielded at least three candidates (out of a possible 24 constituencies) or won at least one assembly seat in the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election,[9] and gives a detailed overview of their characteristics. Parties are initially ordered by their voteshare in the 2015 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Election.
In the run up to the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan elections, various organisations have carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention throughout Gilgit-Baltistan. The results of such polls are displayed in this section. The date range for these opinion polls are from the previous general election, held on 8 June 2015, to the present day.
Voting Intention
The table below shows the results of polls taken which asked the people of Gilgit-Baltistan which political party they would vote for in the 2020 election.
The two tables below show the results of the 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Election by Political Party. The first table shows the results for the elections provincewide, through all 24 constituencies, and shows each political party's standing. The second table shows more detailed results for each of the 24 general constituencies.
On November 24, 2020, full results were published on the official Pakistani elections sites. PTI received 10 additional seats, earning it a historic two-thirds majority in the Assembly.[30] Independent candidates won 7 seats; Six of the independent candidates joined PTI after the election and the party already had a seat adjustment arrangement with the MWM. PPP got one seat reserved for women and one seat reserved for technocrats, whereas PMLN only got one reserved seat for women. The PPP party refused to accept the results and claimed election fraud.[31][32]
^ abRepresented by Nawaz Khan Naji. Although Naji is the leader of Balawaristan National Front (N), he ran as an independent in the elections.
References
^ abMir, Shabbir (15 November 2020). "PTI stakes claim on G-B govt". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020. Election in GBA-3 has been postponed till November 22, following the death of contesting candidate.
^ abc"Summary Male, Female voters of Electoral Rolls 2020"(PDF). Summary Male, Female voters of Electoral Rolls 2020.pdf. Election Commission Gilgit-Baltistan. 12 November 2020. Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
^"Members". Members - Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
^ abSajjad Ahmad (8 July 2020). "Polls in GB". Polls in GB - Newspaper - DAWN.COM. DAWN News. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
^ ab"Gilgit-Baltistan elections postponed". Gilgit-Baltistan elections postponed. The News International. 10 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
^ abcShabbir Hussain (11 July 2020). "G-B elections postponed". G-B elections postponed | The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
^ ab"Army's help 'not required' for G-B polls". Army’s help ‘not required’ for G-B polls | The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune. 3 October 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
^Amir Wasim (9 November 2020). "Gender gap among GB voters widens: Fafen". Gender gap among GB voters widens: Fafen - Pakistan - DAWN.COM. DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
