Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has rejected the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) election results, announcing plans to publish a white paper detailing alleged electoral irregularities and observe a “black day” during the new government’s swearing-in ceremony.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan stated during a press conference that the party faced restrictions on campaigning before the Sunday polls, describing it as a “planned arrangement aimed at eliminating the party from the polls”.
He reported that PTI-backed candidates secured leads in two constituencies Naik Karim in Hunza and Sohail Abbas in Gilgit while their ally, Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen’s Muhammad Kazim, led in Skardu.
Gohar claimed that PTI-backed candidates were winning in eight additional constituencies across Astore, Diamer, Nagar and Ghizer, but alleged that these victories were overturned through rigging, vote-stuffing, and bogus voting.
The party demanded a re-election in Rehmanpur, Astore, where Gohar stated they presented evidence of “167 bogus votes” to the presiding officer.
“The PTI rejects the process, results and vote count of this election,” Gohar stated.
The party requested the allocation of one reserved seat for women and one for technocrats out of the nine total reserved seats. Gohar added that the PTI plans to hold protests in Gilgit-Baltistan following consultations with political allies.
Separately, the opposition alliance, Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), led by National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai, held a consultative meeting to condemn the alleged exclusion of PTI from the democratic process.
In an official statement, the TTAP labeled the GB polls an “action replay” of the 2024 general elections.
The alliance questioned the utility of the democratic exercise, stating, “When decisions are going to be made elsewhere, then what is the point of holding elections?” The TTAP statement concluded that the electoral process and the election commission no longer retained credibility following the polls.
