Key Takeaways
- PPP’s Attaullah Shah was declared the winner for the GBA-16 (Diamer-II) seat in Gilgit-Baltistan.
- Shah beat Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party’s Imam Malik by 13 votes after postal ballots were counted.
- Election Commission suspended Malik’s membership after Shah filed a petition before an election tribunal.
PPP candidate Attaullah Shah was declared the winner for the GBA-16 (Diamer-II) seat in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly following the completion of verification and counting of postal ballot papers.
The final consolidated results, detailed in Form-49 released by the Election Commission, showed that Shah garnered 6,618 votes, defeating the first runner-up, Imam Malik, by just 13 votes.
Malik had initially been declared the returned candidate for GBA-16 (Diamer-II) but his membership was suspended last week after Shah filed a petition before an election tribunal.
The tribunal directed the relevant Returning Officer (RO) to complete the verification and counting of postal ballot papers by September 16, and the process commenced on Sunday amid tight security.
The RO had directed all contesting candidates to ensure their presence in the proceedings, either in person or through their authorised representatives. However, Malik and PML-N’s Muhammad Anwar did not appear either in person or through an agent.
The verification and counting of postal ballots were conducted in the presence of Gilgit Senior Civil Judge Fahad bin Naqeeb, Assistant Registrar of the Chief Court Raj Mir, and Deputy Election Commissioner Muhammad Ali.
Malik’s supporters remained outside the Election Commission Secretariat throughout the night as the counting continued, while a large number of PPP supporters gathered to celebrate Shah’s victory, distributing sweets and shouting party slogans.
Meanwhile, the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court is scheduled to hear Malik’s appeal against the election tribunal’s decision to suspend his membership today.
