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]
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]
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 8, 2015 without any break from morning 8 am to evening 4 pm. Total number of 1143 polling stations were set up 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]
Results
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 21. They won a lopsided majority in the assembly.
^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.
^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.
^"Members". Members - Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
^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.
^ ab"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.
^"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.