2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election explained

Election Name:2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Election
Country:Gilgit-Baltistan
Type:parliamentary
Previous Election:2015 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election
Previous Year:2015
Outgoing Members:Outgoing Members
Elected Members:Elected Members
Next Election:Next Gilgit Baltistan Assembly election
Next Year:2025
Seats For Election:24 of the 33 seats in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly
Majority Seats:17
Registered:745,362[1]
Turnout:48.12%
Image1:Flag of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.svg
Party1:Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Last Election1:1 seat, 11.11%
Seats Before1:1
Seats1:22
Seat Change1: 21
Popular Vote1:-
Percentage1:-
Swing1:-
Party2:Pakistan Peoples Party
Last Election2:1 seat, 18.26%
Seats Before2:1
Seats2:5
Seat Change2: 4
Popular Vote2:-
Percentage2:-
Swing2:-
Image3:PMLN 2021 Flag.png
Party3:Pakistan Muslim League (N)
Last Election3:21 seats, 34.17%
Seats Before3:21
Seats3:3
Seat Change3: 18
Popular Vote3:-
Percentage3:-
Swing3:-
Chief Minister
Before Election:Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman
Before Party:PML(N)
After Election:Muhammad Khalid Khurshid Khan
After Party:PTI
Ongoing:Yes
Leader1:Muhammad Khalid Khurshid Khan
Leader2:Amjad Hussain Azar
Leader3:Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman
Leaders Seat1:Astore-I (won)
Leaders Seat2:Gilgit-I (won)
Nagar-I (won)
Leaders Seat3:Gilgit-II (lost)

The 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections were held on 15 November 2020.[2] [3] [4] [5] Elections were held in 24 constituencies, each electing one member to the 3rd Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.[6] [7] 330 candidates contested these elections,[8] either representing one of the political parties of Gilgit-Baltistan (at the time of the 2020 elections) or being an independent candidate.

The elections were originally scheduled to be held on 18 August 2020,[9] [10] but were postponed in July[11] [12] due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Pakistan Army was not called in to preside over the polls at the Election, with Mir Afzal, the Caretaker Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, giving a statement that the caretaker government had the capacity to hold free, fair, and transparent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.[13] [14]

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%).[15] [16]

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.[17]

Preliminary and unofficial results showed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf being all set to form the next government in Gilgit-Baltistan. They had won eleven general seats, Independent politicians had won seven seats, the Pakistan Peoples Party had won three seats, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) had won two seats, and the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen had won one seat.

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. [18] [19]

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. [20]

Background

2015 elections

Following the elections in 2015, Pakistan Muslim League (N), emerged as the largest party winning 15 of the 24 general seats in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, and securing a supermajority in the assembly after the three technocrat (two who went to PML(N)) and six women representatives (four who went to PML(N)) were added with a final total of 21 out of 33 seats. Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman was elected as the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan.[21] [22]

Timeline

Parties

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, and gives a detailed overview of their characteristics. Parties are initially ordered by their voteshare in the 2015 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Election.

NameNational
Leader
Claimed
Ideology(ies)
data-sort-type=number Voteshare
in 2015
data-sort-type=number General Assembly
Seats won in
the 2015 election
data-sort-type=number Total seats in the 2nd
Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly
data-sort-type=number Total seats in the 3rd
Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly
Symbol
PML(N)Shehbaz SharifConservatism
Economic Liberalism
Federalism
34.17%Tiger
PPPBilawal Bhutto
Zardari
Social Democracy
Secularism
Social Liberalism
18.26%Arrow
PTIImran KhanPopulism
Islamic Democracy
Welfarism
11.11%Bat
MWMAllama Raja
Nasir Abbas
Pan-Islamism
Welfarism
Populism
10.50%Tent
ITPSyed Sajid
Ali Naqvi
Pan-Islamism4.88%Two Swords
JUI(F)Fazl-ur-RahmanIslamism
Clericalism
Conservatism
2.94%Book
BNFNawaz Khan NajiGilgit-Baltistan
Autonomy
1.39%Revolver
APMLPervez MusharrafPakistani Nationalism
Islamic Democracy
Atlanticism
1.18%Eagle
MQM(P)Khalid Maqbool SiddiquiLiberalism
Muhajir Nationalism
Secularism
0.16%Kite
PSPSyed Mustafa
Kamal
Pakistani NationalismDid Not Contest 2015 ElectionsDolphin
PML(Q)Shujaat HussainConservatism
Pakistani Nationalism
Did Not Contest 2015 ElectionsTractor

Opinion Polls

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.

Polling firmLast date
of polling
LinkPML(N)PPPPTIJUI(F)OtherLeadMargin
of error
Sample
size
Polling method
Pulse ConsultantHTML 14%26%35%4%12%9%+9%1,423Field Interviews
Gallup Pakistan14%24%27%4%12%19%+3%±2-3%~1,000Unknown
2015 ElectionECGB34.17% 18.40%11.11%4.45%31.87%+15.77%N/A379,032Final Election Results

Results

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.[29] 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.[30] [31]

By Constituency

ConstituencyWinnerRunner-updata-sort-type=number rowspan="2" Margindata-sort-type=number rowspan="2" Registered
Voters
data-sort-type=number rowspan="2" Votes
Cast
data-sort-type=number rowspan="2" Voter
Turnout
DistrictNameCandidatePartydata-sort-type=number Votesdata-sort-type=number CandidatePartydata-sort-type=number Votesdata-sort-type=number
GilgitGBA-1Amjad Hussain AzarPPP11,178Sultan RaisIND8,3562,82235,992
GBA-2Fatehullah KhanPTI6,69827.16%Jamil AhmedPPP6,69427.14%441,10824,66160.00%
GBA-3Syed Sohail Abbas ShahPTI6,873Muhammad IqbalIND4,6782,19541,36026,46163.98%
NagarGBA-4Amjad Hussain AzarPPP4,716Muhammad AyubITP4,29142523,17114,83764.03%
GBA-5Javed Ali ManwaIND2,570Rizwan AliMWM1,85072014,001
HunzaGBA-6Abaid Ullah BaigPTI5,710Noor MuhammadIND4,6832,01443,60323,06052.89%
SkarduGBA-7Raja Muhammad Zakaria Khan MaqpoonPTI5,565Syed Mehdi ShahPPP4,1131,45217,127
GBA-8Muhammad Kazim MaisamMWM7,84235.35%PPP6,90431.12%93839,56722,18256.06%
GBA-9Wazir Muhammad SaleemIND6,286Fida Muhammad NashadPTI5,1871,09925,562
GBA-10Raja Nasir Ali Khan MaqpoonIND4,81127.18%Wazir HassanPTI3,43919.43%1,37226,83917,70265.96%
KharmangGBA-11Syed Amjad Ali Zaidi PTI5,733Syed Muhsin RizviIND2,0163,71726,869
ShigarGBA-12Raja Azam Khan AmachaPTI10,674Imran NadeemPPP8,8861,78836,18324,80468.55%
AstoreGBA-13Muhammad Khalid Khurshid KhanPTI4,836Abdul Hamid KhanPPP3,1171,71933,37816,29848.83%
GBA-14Shamsul HaqPTI5,354Muzaffar AliPPP3,4731,88129,02315,51353.45%
DiamerGBA-15Shah BaigIND2,713Muhammad DilpazirIND2,30940435,18522,23763.20%
GBA-16Muhammad AnwarPML(N)4,813AttaullahIND2,5762,23735,40521,45860.61%
TangirGBA-17Rehmat KhaliqJUI(F)5,389Haider KhanPTI5,12626329,95512,87042.96%
DarelGBA-18Gulbar KhanPTI6,793Malik Kifayat Ur RehmanIND5,98680718,9079,66951.14%
GhizerGBA-19Nawaz Khan NajiBNF(N)6,208Pir Jalal Ali ShahPPP4,9671,24137,808
GBA-21Ghulam MuhammadPML(N)4,334PPP3,43090434,97320,05357.34%
Gupis-YasinGBA-20Nazir AhmedPTI5,592Khan Akbar KhanPML(Q)3,8151,77742,533
GhancheGBA-22Mushtaq HussainIND6,051PTI4,9451,10629,10417,16958.99%
GBA-23Abdul HameedIND3,666Amina AnsariPTI3,29637027,52215,39355.93%
GBA-24Engr Mohammad IsmailPPP6,239Syed ShamsuddinPTI5,36184520,18712,25160.69%

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Summary Male, Female voters of Electoral Rolls 2020 . Summary Male, Female voters of Electoral Rolls 2020.pdf . Election Commission Gilgit-Baltistan . 18 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201118200538/http://ecgb.gov.pk/download/Summary%20%20%20Male,%20Female%20voters%20of%20Electoral%20Rolls%202020.pdf . 18 November 2020 . 12 November 2020 . live.
  2. Web site: President gives nod to GB general polls on Nov 15 . President gives nod to GB general polls on Nov 15 . Associated Press of Pakistan . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923213603/https://www.app.com.pk/national/president-gives-nod-to-gb-general-polls-on-nov-15/ . 23 September 2020 . 23 September 2020 . live.
  3. Web site: Sana Jamal . Pakistan to hold assembly elections in Gilgit-Baltistan on November 15 . Pakistan to hold assembly elections in Gilgit-Baltistan on November 15 | Pakistan — Gulf News . Gulf News . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923213730/https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-to-hold-assembly-elections-in-gilgit-baltistan-on-november-15-1.74073803 . 23 September 2020 . 23 September 2020 . live.
  4. Web site: GB election commission issues schedule for Nov 15 polls . GB election commission issues schedule for Nov 15 polls . Geo News . 27 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027040250/https://www.geo.tv/latest/309705-gb-election-commission-issues-schedule-for-nov-15-polls . 27 October 2020 . 25 September 2020 . live.
  5. Web site: Commissioner announces Gilgit-Baltistan election schedule . Commissioner announces Gilgit-Baltistan election schedule . The Nation (Newspaper) . 27 October 2020 . 25 September 2020 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200925222113/https://nation.com.pk/25-Sep-2020/commissioner-announces-gilgit-baltistan-election-schedule . 2020-09-25 .
  6. Web site: Members . Members - Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly . Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200215121723/http://gba.gov.pk/members/ . 15 February 2020 . live.
  7. Web site: Election Commission Gilgit-Baltistan . Election Commission GB . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923223137/http://ecgb.gov.pk/index.htm . 23 September 2020 . live.
  8. Web site: Final List of Contested Candidates With Allocated of Symbol Who Have Filed Nomination Papers With Returning Officers of 24 Constituencies of Gilgit-Baltistan . contesting Candidates 2020.pdf . Election Commission of Gilgit-Baltistan . 18 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201118203856/http://ecgb.gov.pk/download/constesting%20Candidates%202020.pdf . 18 November 2020 . 13 November 2020 . live.
  9. Web site: Gilgit-Baltistan elections to be held on August 18 . Gilgit-Baltistan elections to be held on August 18 . Geo News . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923214142/https://www.geo.tv/latest/295199-gilgit-baltistan-elections-to-be-held-on-august-18 . 23 September 2020 . 28 June 2020 . live.
  10. Web site: Sajjad Ahmad . Polls in GB . Polls in GB - Newspaper - DAWN.COM . DAWN News . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200824225538/https://www.dawn.com/news/1567716 . 24 August 2020 . 8 July 2020 . live.
  11. Web site: Gilgit-Baltistan elections postponed . Gilgit-Baltistan elections postponed . The News International . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923214438/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/684740-gilgit-baltistan-elections-postponed . 23 September 2020 . 10 July 2020 . live.
  12. Web site: Shabbir Hussain . G-B elections postponed . G-B elections postponed | The Express Tribune . The Express Tribune . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200916234753/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2254436/g-b-elections-postponed . 16 September 2020 . 11 July 2020 . live.
  13. Web site: Army's help 'not required' for G-B polls . Army’s help ‘not required’ for G-B polls | The Express Tribune . The Express Tribune . 27 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027034517/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2266747/armys-help-not-required-for-g-b-polls . 27 October 2020 . 3 October 2020 . live.
  14. Web site: Army troops not to be deployed at polling stations: CM . Army troops not to be deployed at polling stations: CM . The Nation (Newspaper) . 27 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027034525/https://nation.com.pk/03-Oct-2020/army-troops-not-to-be-deployed-at-polling-stations-cm . 27 October 2020 . 3 October 2020 . live.
  15. Web site: Amir Wasim . Gender gap among GB voters widens: Fafen . Gender gap among GB voters widens: Fafen - Pakistan - DAWN.COM . DAWN.COM . 14 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201114223656/https://www.dawn.com/news/1589405 . 14 November 2020 . 9 November 2020 . live.
  16. Web site: At a glance: Gilgit-Baltistan Elections 2020 . At a glance: Gilgit-Baltistan Elections 2020 - Dunya News . Dunya News . 14 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201114224554/https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/572583-glance-Gilgit-Baltistan-Elections-2020 . 14 November 2020 . 9 November 2020 . live.
  17. Web site: PTI, PPP, PML-N eye victory as Gilgit-Baltistan prepares to vote . SAMAA - PTI, PPP, PML-N eye victory as Gilgit-Baltistan prepares to vote . SAMAA . 14 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201114002006/https://www.samaa.tv/news/2020/11/gilgit-baltistan-elections-2020/ . 14 November 2020 . 13 November 2020 . live.
  18. Web site: GB elections: Official results reveal PTI as majority party with 22 seats in hand - DAWN . 24 November 2020 .
  19. Web site: Candidate Result GB Assembly Election 2020 - Elections .
  20. Web site: GB forest dept building, 4 vehicles torched as PPP's protest against alleged rigging turns violent - DAWN . 23 November 2020 .
  21. Web site: PM felicitates new GB CM Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman Samaa Digital. Samaa TV. en-US. 2019-05-23.
  22. Web site: Profile: The new GB chief. Khan. M. I. 2015-06-28. DAWN.COM. en. 2019-05-23.
  23. Web site: Govt gets Supreme Court nod for caretaker setup in G-B . Govt gets Supreme Court nod for caretaker setup in G-B | The Express Tribune . The Express Tribune . 27 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027023749/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2210809/supreme-court-allows-amendment-form-caretaker-govt-g-b-general-elections . 27 October 2020 . 30 April 2020 . live.
  24. Web site: Sohail Khan . Supreme Court allows govt to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan . Supreme Court allows govt to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan . The News International . 27 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027023740/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/652447-supreme-court-allows-govt-to-hold-elections-in-gilgit-baltistan . 27 October 2020 . 1 May 2020 . live.
  25. Web site: Gilgit-Baltistan assembly completes its five-year term . Gilgit-Baltistan assembly completes its five-year term . Daily Pakistan . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923225112/https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/24-Jun-2020/gilgit-baltistan-assembly-completes-its-five-year-term . 23 September 2020 . 24 June 2020 . live.
  26. Web site: Shabbir Mir . Mir Afzal sworn in as Gilgit-Baltistan caretaker chief minister . Mir Afzal sworn in as Gilgit-Baltistan caretaker chief minister | The Express Tribune . The Express Tribune . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200904103833/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2249601/mir-afzal-sworn-gilgit-baltistan-caretaker-chief-minister . 4 September 2020 . 24 June 2020 . live.
  27. Web site: Govt appoints Mir Afzal as GB's caretaker CM . Govt appoints Mir Afzal as GB's caretaker CM . The Nation . 23 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200904103833/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2249601/mir-afzal-sworn-gilgit-baltistan-caretaker-chief-minister . 4 September 2020 . 24 June 2020 . live.
  28. Web site: Polling Stations Established for 24 Constituencies of GBA Elections 2020 . Election Commission GB . 18 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201118204417/http://ecgb.gov.pk/Listof%20poliingst.htm . 18 November 2020 . 13 November 2020 . live.
  29. Web site: Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly Election 2020 . Dunay News.
  30. Web site: November 23, 2020 . GB forest dept building, 4 vehicles torched as PPP's protest against alleged rigging turns violent . DAWN.
  31. Web site: PTI bags two-third majority in Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly. 2020-11-24. www.geo.tv. en-US.