The elections for Gilgit-Baltistan are scheduled for November 15 and campaigning is fully underway. This year there is renewed interest in the elections as the PTI government has vowed to give the region provincial status.
Elections will be held on 24 constituencies for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly. More than 330 candidates are vying for the seats and over 759,000 people have been registered to vote. Unlike rest of the country, the army will not be deployed at the polls and the interim government had vowed to hold free and fair elections. There are neither any incidents of rigging and violence and instead the elections are held in a peaceful manner.
The people of the area were not given the right to vote ever since they were amalgamated in 1970 and called Northern Areas. The territory was renamed in 2007 and given the self-government status only in 2009 while only two assemblies of the unicameral parliament have completed their full terms. Thus, successive governments have vowed to give the region the same status as the rest of the country.
The history of the Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir suggests that the party which rules in the Centre forms the government in the region. All eyes are on the PTI to see if the ruling party can win the elections despite the active campaigning by the two main opposition leaders – Bilawal Bhutto and Maryam Nawaz. Both are electioneering in the region hoping to grab a slice of the lion’s share from the PTI.
A survey by Gallup Pakistan suggests that the PTI is on course to win the election, while the PPP and PML-N will manage to secure a handful of seats. It needs to be seen if the people of GB will vote for the party which has been ruling in Islamabad or make any independent decisions. This is what Bilawal and Maryam are hoping for to make credible gains in the elections.
The PTI has also the upper hand for its promise to declare the region as the fifth province of Pakistan. GB enjoys an ideal location as it is the gateway to China and CPEC projects pass from here. Thus, the elections have global exposure as China seeks ways to tackle Indian hegemony. The PTI government must ensure that it promises are fulfilled and not just used for political gains.
