2015 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election

The 2015 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections were held on 8 June 2015.[2] Elections were held in 24 constituencies, each electing one member to the 2nd Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly.[3][4] 269 candidates contested these elections,[1] either representing one of the political parties of Gilgit-Baltistan (at the time of the 2020 elections) or being an independent candidate.[1]

2015 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Election
June 8, 2015 (2015-06-08)
All 24 directly elected seats in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly[lower-alpha 1]
13 seats needed for a majority
Registered618,364[1]
Turnout61.29%[1]
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman Syed Ahmed Iqbal Rizvi Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi
Party PML(N) MWM ITP
Leader's seat Gilgit-II (won) Did not contest Did not contest
Seats before 2 0 0
Seats won 15 2 2
Seat change 13 2 2
Popular vote 129,526 39,800 18,491
Percentage 34.17% 10.50% 4.88%
Chief Minister before election

Syed Mehdi Shah
Pakistan Peoples Party

 Elected Chief Minister

Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)

618,364 voters in Gilgit-Baltistan had the ability to exercise their right to vote in the elections and were able to vote across the province.[1] 329,475 of the people registered to vote were male and 288,889 were female (a gender gap of 8%).[5]

Background

In 1970, the Gilgit Agency, Baltistan District, and the princely states of Hunza and Nagar were merged into a single administrative unit, called the "Federally Administered Northern Areas", often shortened to "FANA", or "Northern Areas". The Northern Areas were governed directly from Islamabad through the "Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas".[6]

In 2009, the Government of Pakistan passed "The Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-governance Order, 2009, and the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari. This order renamed the Nothern Areas to "Gilgit-Baltistan" and gave it a limited amount of internal autonomy within Pakistan and self-governance by allowing the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to have elections, where they could elect members of the "Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly". The position "Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan" was also made. The Assembly would have five-year-long terms.[7]

The first Gilgit-Baltistan elections were held in 2009, and the Pakistan Peoples Party, who then ruled at the federal level as well, won the election by a large margin and formed the government,[6] and Syed Mehdi Shah became the first Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Campaign and Polling

495 candidates from different political parties and Independents submitted their nomination papers out of which 50 nominations were rejected. 445 candidates took part in elections. Parties like Pakistan Muslim League (N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Peoples Party stood candidates on all 24 assembly seats.[8]

Polling took place on June 8th, 2015 without any break from morning 8 am to evening 4 pm. Total number of 1143 polling stations were setup across the province. Out of 1143 polling stations, 282 were declared highly sensitive, while 269 polling stations were declared sensitive. About 5500 Military Soldiers along with 4356 policemen were deployed to perform security duties to make peaceful polling across the province.[9][10]

Result

Pakistan Muslim League (N) emerged as the majority party by winning 15 out of 24 general seats. Taking into account the 4 out of 6 women seats and 2 out of 3 technocrat seats that they successfully gained, their seats increased to 22. They won a lopsided majority in the assembly.

Party Votes % Seats
General Reserved Seats for Women Technocrat Seats Total +/–
Pakistan Muslim League (N) 129,526 34.17% 15 4 2 21 +18
Islami Tehreek Pakistan 18,491 4.88% 2 1 1 4 +4
Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen 39,800 10.50% 2 1 0 3 +3
Pakistan Peoples Party 69,216 18.26% 1 0 0 1 -19
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf 42,101 11.11% 1 0 0 1 +1
Balawaristan National Front (Naji) 5,259 1.39% 1 0 0 1 -
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) 11,148 2.94% 1 0 0 1 -3
All Pakistan Muslim League 4,485 1.18% 0 0 0 0
Muttahida Qaumi Movement 591 0.16% 0 0 0 0 -1
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan 3,237 0.85% 0 0 0 0 -1
Other Parties 5,842 1.54% 0 0 0 0
Independents 49,336 13.02% 1 0 0 1 -3
Total votes polled 379,032 100.00% 24 6 3 33
Total Voters 618,364 100% Turnout:61.29%[11]

Aftermath

The newly elected assembly members took oath on 24 June 2015.[12] Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman was elected as 2nd Chief Minister of Gilgit Baltistan unopposed. He took oath on 26 June 2015.[13]

Notes
  1. There are 33 seats total in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. Six seats are reserved for women, three seats are reserved for technocrats, and these nine seats are allocated using proportional representation. More information on the allocation of these seats is given in the section "Government formation" of this article.

References
  1. "ELECTIONS 2015 - RESULT OF ELECTION, 2015". ELECTION COMMISSION GB. ELECTION COMMISSION GILGIT-BALTISTAN. 2015. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  2. Mahmud, Ershad (7 June 2015). "The battle for Gilgit-Baltistan". The battle for Gilgit-Baltistan | thenews.com.pk. The News International. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  3. "Members". Members - Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  4. "Election Commission Gilgit-Baltistan". Election Commission GB. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  5. 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.
  6. "GB Elections 2020: Who is likely to win?". GB Elections 2020: Who is likely to win? - Global Village Space. Global Village Space. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. "AN ORDER" (PDF). TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE. GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN MINISTRY OF KASHMIR AFFAIRS AND NORTHERN AREAS. 9 September 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. "Political parties announce candidates for GB elections | Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  9. "GB Legislative Assembly elections today". www.thenews.com.pk. 2015-06-07. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  10. "Abbtakk.tv: Latest News Breaking Pakistan, World, Live Videos". Abb Takk News. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  11. "RESULT OF ELECTION, 2015". ELECTION COMMISSION GB. GILGIT BALTISTAN ELECTION COMMISSION. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  12. Tribune.com.pk (2015-06-25). "Maiden session: 33 members of G-B Assembly take oath". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  13. Correspondent, The Newspaper's (2015-06-27). "Hafeezur Rehman sworn in as new GB chief minister". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2019-07-21.


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