GB local polls set for Dec 5 in Gilgit, Skardu and Chilas

Gilgit-Baltistan’s Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan on Thursday announced a revised schedule for local body elections in the region. Polling for the municipal corporation seats in Chilas, Skardu and Gilgit has been fixed for December 5, while elections to the remaining local bodies will follow in April next year.

The polls were announced last year after a gap of more than two decades and were originally set for February 14, 2026. They have been postponed repeatedly since, most recently because of harsh weather and amendments to the Local Government Act, Dawn reported.

Two phases

Addressing a press conference at the GB Election Commission Secretariat, Khan said the elections would be held in two phases:

• First phase, December 5: polling for municipal corporation seats in Chilas, Skardu and Gilgit.
• Second phase, April 2027: elections for district councils, municipal committees and union councils.

According to the schedule he gave, public notices for the municipal corporation elections will be issued on October 24. Nomination papers can be filed from October 26 to 29.

The commissioner said polling in the seven districts and remote areas had been scheduled for April because of harsh weather and snowfall. The seven districts are Hunza, Nagar, Ghizer, Astore, Kharmang, Ghanche and Shigar. Each will have district councils, union councils and municipal committees.

Why the polls kept slipping

Khan said the election had been delayed several times at the request of the government and other stakeholders. After he announced a schedule in December last year, he said, he had proposed February, but the government asked for a delay because of severe winter weather. A revised schedule was then prepared for August, with polling initially planned for September. The GB government later asked for more time to amend the Local Government Act, which led to another postponement.

The government has now finished those amendments, he said, and he had met Chief Minister Amjad Hussain to discuss the revised timetable. Khan noted that local body elections had not been held in the region for 22 years. “The GB Local Government Act 2026 was introduced by the PPP government, and the credit for holding elections under the same law also goes to the party,” he said.

What the amended law changes

The commissioner listed several important changes:

• Independent candidates: they can now contest the local government elections, which were earlier to be held on a party basis.
• Fewer categories: the earlier system had seven types of local bodies covering urban and rural areas, including town committees, municipal committees, municipal corporations, union councils, tehsil councils and district councils. It has been simplified to four: district councils, union councils, municipal committees and municipal corporations.
• Multi-ward system: elections to all four categories will be held under it, which Khan said would make the process simpler.
• Leadership posts: district councils, union councils and municipal committees will elect chairmen and vice-chairmen, while municipal corporations will have mayors and deputy mayors, chosen by elected members.
• Women’s quota: 17 per cent of seats in all local bodies are reserved for women.

Municipal corporations have been established in Chilas, Gilgit and Skardu. District councils and union councils will also operate in those areas.

Why it matters

Local councils are where residents of Gilgit-Baltistan take problems such as water supply, roads, sanitation and street lighting. Without elected councils for more than two decades, those decisions have rested with officials. A fixed date, with nomination papers due within two weeks of the public notice, gives candidates and voters a concrete timeline for the first time after a string of delays. Read our earlier report on Punjab’s proposal to hold its own local elections in April.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn.