A closely contested electoral battle is expected between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) in Gilgit-Baltistan’s GBA-16 Diamer-II constituency, where repolling is scheduled at three polling stations on Sunday (November 15).
PPP candidate Attaullah Shah and IPP candidate Imam Malik are once again facing off in the constituency following an election tribunal’s decision to order repolling at three polling stations.
The tribunal suspended PPP lawmaker Attaullah Shah’s assembly membership on November 6 and directed the authorities to conduct fresh polling at the three stations.
The dispute arose after Imam Malik challenged the election results, while Shah had earlier been declared the successful candidate following the counting of postal ballots. Shah secured 6,618 votes, defeating Malik by a narrow margin of just 13 votes.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has announced its support for IPP candidate Imam Malik, adding another political dimension to the contest.
Meanwhile, PPP supporters staged a sit-in outside the Diamer Deputy Commissioner’s Office, alleging that biased presiding officers had been appointed at the polling stations.
According to the Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission, a total of 2,780 registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots at the three polling stations located in Thor, Sarri and Gichi.
Polling is scheduled to begin at 8am and continue until 5pm. More than 400 police and Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order during the voting process.
The outcome of the repolling at these three stations is expected to play a decisive role in determining the fate of the closely contested Diamer-II constituency.
