Elections to appoint the 24 members of the 4th Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, the highest body of the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, were held on 7 June 2026.
According to official results, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won ten general seats while Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)) emerged to be the second largest party with six general seats. Independent candidates supported by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won two general seats and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) won one general seat. Other independent candidates garnered five general seats. These five independents later joined Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP). Moreover, one of the PTI-supported independents later joined PPP. After the allotment of reserved seats and re-polling held in two constituencies, the party standings were as follows: 15 seats for PPP, 9 seats for PML(N), 7 seats for IPP, and 1 seat each for MWM and PTI-supported independents.
Background
2020 elections Following the elections in 2020, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the largest party after winning 16 of the 24 general seats in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, and securing a two-thirds supermajority in the assembly after six women representatives (four who went to the PTI) and the three technocrats (two who went to the PTI) were added with a final total of 22 out of 33 seats. Khalid Khurshid was elected as the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan. The PTI became the first party in the history of Gilgit-Baltistan to secure a two-thirds majority.
Election of Gulbar Khan On 4 July 2023, a three-member bench of the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court disqualified Khurshid following a court case that revealed his law degree from London to be fake. The case against Khursheed was filed by Ghulam Shahzad Agha, a member of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) who argued that his degree was fraudulent. As a result of his disqualification, he was de-seated and the PTI government in Gilgit-Baltistan was dissolved.
On 13 July 2023, Gulbar Khan, another PTI member of the Assembly, was elected as Chief Minister after securing 19 votes, including three each from the Pakistan Muslim League (N) PML(N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and one from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) (JUI(F)). The remaining twelve votes were from PTI members, who subsequently formed a forward bloc in the assembly. Khan's cabinet included two members each from the PML(N) and PPP, one from the JUI(F), and nine from the PTI forward bloc.
Timeline
24 November 2025: The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly completed its 5-year tenure at midnight. Elections must be held no more than 60 days after this date. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari appointed Yar Muhammad, a retired Justice of the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court, as the region's caretaker Chief Minister. 26 November 2025: Governor Syed Mehdi Shah administered the oath of office to Yar Muhammad. 2 December 2025: The Election Commission of Gilgit-Baltistan (ECGB) announced the schedule of the 2026 elections, setting 24 January 2026 as the date when polling will be held. 18 December 2025: After consultation with 20 political parties at a multi-party conference, the ECGB announced that the elections would be delayed due to harsh weather conditions in the region. 6 January 2026: The caretaker cabinet of Chief Minister Yar Muhammad was sworn in, consisting of twelve ministers and two advisors. 11 February 2026: Former Gilgit-Baltistan governor Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon joined IPP. 11 April 2026: The ECGB announced the new election schedule, setting 7 June 2026 as the date when polling will be held. 7 June 2026: Polls opened.
Seats held before elections The table below lists the ten political parties that fielded at least three candidates (out of a possible 24 constituencies) or held seats at the end of the term of the 3rd Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. NameNational LeaderClaimed Ideology(ies)Total seats at start of the 3rd Gilgit-Baltistan AssemblyTotal seats at the end of the 3rd Gilgit-Baltistan AssemblySymbolPPPBilawal Bhutto ZardariSocial DemocracySocial liberalismArrowPML(N)Nawaz SharifConservatismEconomic liberalismFederalismTigerIPPAleem KhanPopulismIslamic DemocracyEaglePTIGohar Ali KhanPopulismIslamic DemocracyWelfarismBat (Miscellaneous)MWMRaja Nasir Abbas JafriPan-IslamismWelfarismPopulismTentITPSyed Sajid Ali NaqviShia IslamismTwo swordsJUI(F)Fazl-ur-RahmanIslamismClericalismConservatismBookBNF(N)Nawaz Khan NajiGilgit-Baltistan AutonomyRevolverMQM(P)Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui LiberalismMuhajir NationalismSecularismKitePML(Q)Shujaat HussainConservatismPakistani NationalismTractorAWPAkhtar HussainDemocratic socialismProgressivismLight bulbJIPHafiz Naeem ur RehmanPan-IslamismIslamic democracySocial conservatismScales
Results
The two tables below show the results of the elections. The first table shows the results for the elections across all 24 constituencies, and shows each political party's standing after independents joining different parties and the allotment of reserved seats. The second table shows more detailed results for each of the 24 constituencies.
PartyVotes%SeatsContestedWon (General)Reserved (Women)Reserved (Technocrats)Independents joinedTotal+/-PPP163,14929.94%2310311 10PML(N)120,54622.12%226210 6IPP41,9587.70%190 1 15 7PTI36,7736.75%152 0 0 -1 19MWM22,7564.18%71 0 00 ITP22,3524.10%100000 JUI(F)14,3422.63%90000 1BNF(N)7,0751.30%10000 1AWP3,8320.70%40000 PRHP2,2900.42%10000 JI1,4200.26%60000 PML(Q)1,0930.20%120000 Pakistan Nazriyati Party7900.15%110000 MQM(P)4340.08%60000 PMML1340.03%10000 TLP770.01%10000 ANP530.01%10000 PAT220.004%10000 SIC190.004%10000 Pakistan Awami League170.003%10000 TTP70.001%10000 IND105,83419.42%236500 -5 Valid ballots/Total seats 544,97398.36% 3892463033-Rejected ballots9,0931.64%Cast ballots554,066 -Registered voters/turnout 960,496 57.69%
By constituency ConstituencyWinnerRunner-upMarginRegistered VotersVotes CastVoter TurnoutSource(s)DistrictNameCandidatePartyVotesCandidatePartyVotesGilgitGBA-1Amjad HussainPPP 11,28737.89 Muhammad Shafiq Ud DinPML(N) 6,472 21.73 4,815 45,79230,72367.09GBA-2Hafeezur RehmanPML(N) 14,78844.31 Jamil AhmadPPP 9,319 27.92 5,469 56,01933,37559.58GBA-3Syed Sohail Abbas ShahPTI 8,06026.97 Aftab HaiderPPP 7,665 25.65 395 52,52230,52958.13NagarGBA-4Muhammad Ali AkhtarPPP 7,97342.22 Muhammad Ayub WaziriITP 6,805 36.03 1,168 29,97019,23964.19GBA-5Zulfiqar Ali MuradPPP 2,78025.50 Riaz AkbarMWM 2,562 23.50 218 18,30011,21461.28HunzaGBA-6Naik Nam KarimPTI 6,42929.35 Imtiaz Ul HaquePPP 5,499 25.10 930 52,23722,62843.32SkarduGBA-7Syed Tauqeer MehdiPPP 4,62232.49 Raja Jalal Hussain MaqpoonIPP 4,134 29.27 488 22,05614,54565.95GBA-8Muhammad Kazim MaisamMWM 10,81637.19 Syed Muhammad Ali ShahPPP 10,251 35.25 565 53,02229,80356.21GBA-9Fida Muhammad NashadPPP 6,57839.06 Wazir Muhammad SaleemIND 6,353 37.73 225 33,64917,62252.37GBA-10Raja Nasir Ali KhanPPP 6,77329.87 Muhammad Khan WazirIPP 5,098 22.48 1,675 34,92723,48267.23KharmangGBA-11Iqbal HassanPPP 6,14334.10 Syed Mohsin RizviPML(N) 4,847 26.91 1,296 34,67018,62053.71ShigarGBA-12Imran NadeemPPP 13,22242.53 Raja Azam Khan AmachaITP 8,977 28.87 4,245 46,59434,66374.39AstoreGBA-13Rana Farman AliPML(N) 8,05837.02 Shahida KhursheedPTI 7,256 33.33 802 44,05622,26050.53GBA-14Rana Muhammad FarooqPML(N) 7,05835.15 Syed Muhammad AbbasPPP 5,891 29.34 1,167 37,21920,07853.95DiamerGBA-15Muhammad DilpazirIND 6,03320.56 Wali ur RehmanJUI(F) 4,639 15.81 1,374 45,22529,55765.36GBA-16 AtaullahPPP 6,32026.34Imam MalikIND 6,296 26.24 24 46,28224,02451.91GBA-17Muhammad NaseemPPP 10,71645.63 Rehmat KhaliqJUI(F) 6,989 29.76 3,668 41,04523,77157.91GBA-18Malik Kifayatur RehmanPML(N) 6,08148.25 Gulbar KhanIPP 5,447 43.22 634 27,36812,67846.32GhizerGBA-19Syed Jalal Ali ShahPPP 9,33134.06 Zafar MuhammadPML(N) 7,460 27.23 1,871 45,88528,12161.29GBA-20Abdul JahanPML(N) 7,15324.01 Nazir AhmedPPP 7,034 23.61 119 52,73330,17257.22GBA-21Aman AliIND 9,97839.48 Muhammad Ayub ShahPPP 6,685 26.45 3,293 43,07525,47659.14GhancheGBA-22Muhammad Ibrahim SanaiPML(N) 10,13647.18 Ashiq HussainPPP 9,498 44.21 638 36,77821,48358.41GBA-23Anwar AliIND 13,16167.20 Abdul HameedIND 4,148 21.18 9,013 35,92419,58654.52GBA-24Asad ShafiqIND 7,76350.51 Muhammad IsmailPPP 5,311 34.56 2,452 25,14815,60062.03
Reserved seats On 20 June 2026, the ECGB notified successful candidates on reserved seats for women and technocrats. Reserved seatCandidatePartyWomenKulsoom JahangirPPPSadia DanishPPPSobia JabeenPPPSajida BegumPML(N)Jennifer BahadurPML(N)Dilshad BanoIPPTechnocratsMuhammad SharifPPPSahib KhanPML(N)Muhammad AliIPP
Aftermath As no party received an overall majority of 17 seats, negotiations were required to form a government. On 20 June 2026, in a press conference led by Amjad Hussain Azar and Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)) announced a power-sharing agreement. Under the agreement, PPP would secure the offices of Chief Minister and Speaker, while PML(N) would secure the offices of Governor, Deputy Speaker, and Leader of the Opposition. Both parties would support the other in votes for the elected offices of Chief Minister, Speaker, and Deputy Speaker. On 21 June 2026, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) also announced its support for PPP, with former Chief Minister Gulbar Khan, the party's president in Gilgit-Baltistan, said that they "will join the PPP-led alliance".
On the morning of 22 June 2026, 30 newly elected members of the 4th Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly were sworn in by outgoing Speaker Nazir Ahmed. Due to ongoing legal and electoral proceedings, results for three general seats were still pending. Ahmed adjourned the assembly and returned at 4:00PM to announce the election schedule for the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, giving candidates until 5:15PM to file nomination papers. Imran Nadeem of PPP and Malik Kifayatur Rehman of PML(N) had filed nomination papers for the position of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively. Since no other candidate filed nomination papers, both were elected unopposed. Ahmed administered the oath of office to Nadeem, and Nadeem did so to Rehman. Nadeem then announced the election schedule for the position of Chief Minister, setting 7:40PM as the nomination deadline. No other candidate but Amjad Hussain Azar filed nomination, and therefore, Nadeem announced at 8:00PM that Azar was elected unopposed. Nadeem also announced Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman as the Leader of the Opposition, as opposioton members had requested so.
On 6 July, Azar was administered the oath of office by Governor Syed Mehdi Shah in Gilgit.
On 9 July, before he could be sworn in, Fida Muhammad Nashad, the winning candidate of PPP from GBA-9 Skardu-III was disqualified by the Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan.
On 12 July, re-polling was held at one polling station in GBA-15 Diamer-I and eight polling stations in GBA-17 Diamer-III. Resultingly, Muhammad Dilpazir, an independent candidate who later joined IPP, won from GBA-15, and Muhammad Naseem, a candidate of PPP, won from GBA-17.
See also 2026 Azad Kashmiri general election
Notes
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