2026 Gilgit Baltistan Assembly election

2026 Gilgit Baltistan Assembly election

←  2020 24 January 2026
←  outgoing members
24 of the 33 seats in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly [a] 17 seats needed for a majority
Leader Khalid Khurshid Amjad Hussain Azar Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman Party IND (backed by PTI) PPP PML(N) Leader since 30 May 2022 9 December 2015 6 February 2015 Leader's seat Astore-I Gilgit-I Gilgit-II Last election 22 seats 5 seats 3 seats Current seats 20 5 3 Seats needed 12 14
Map of Gilgit Baltistan showing the constituencies of the Legislative Assembly.
Incumbent Chief Minister Gulbar Khan PTI

Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan, no more than 60 days after the dissolution of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, which is set to dissolve on 25 November 2025, unless dissolved earlier: in which case the election shall be held within 90 days after dissolution. This means that the election must be held by or before 24 January 2026.

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. ^[1]

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. ^[2]

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. ^{[3] [4]}

Notes

1. Six seats are reserved for women, three seats are reserved for technocrats.

References

1. "PTI gains two-thirds majority in G-B Assembly". The Express Tribune. 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
2. Web Desk (2023-07-04). "Gilgit-Baltistan CM Khalid Khursheed disqualified by court". Aaj English TV. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
3. Taj, Imtiaz Ali (2023-07-13). "Haji Gulbar Khan elected GB chief minister". Dawn. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
4. Nagri, Jamil (2023-07-19). "14-member Gilgit-Baltistan cabinet sworn in". Dawn. Retrieved 2025-11-21.