GILGIT: A close contest between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and an independent candidate is expected as polling for the by-election in the GBA-09 (Skardu-III) constituency is scheduled for Saturday (today), with 33,000 voters set to cast their ballots.
The by-election was announced by the GilgitBaltistan Election Commission after the GB Supreme Appellate Court disqualified PPP candidate Fida Muhammad Nashad, who had been declared a returned candidate in the June general elections.
Nashad’s son, Akhtar Abbas, will now contest the elections on PPP’s ticket, while Mohammad Ajmal will be in the field from the PML-N.
Former minister Mohammad Saleem, who is contesting as an independent, will also be among 10 candidates who have filed their nomination papers.
According to the election schedule, polling will continuefrom 8am to 5pm. GB Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan said on Friday that security arrangements, deployment of polling staff and other preparations had been completed for the byelection.
He expressed his determination to conduct ‘transparent, impartial and peaceful’ elections and ensure voters could cast their votes without fear.
Mr Khan also directed relevant institutions and officials to perform their duties responsibly during the electoral process. ‘No kind of obstruction in the polling process will be tolerated,’ he warned.
Analysts said a close contest was expected between PPP’s Abbas and independent candidate Saleem. They said Abbas could retain his father’s vote bank and may benefit from public sympathy following Nashad’s disqualification by the GB Supreme Appellate Court.
Saleem, who won the sameconstituency in the 2020 GB general elections, had finished as the runner-up in the June polls.
District Returning Officer (DRO) Hamza Murad told Dawn that all arrangements and the security plan had been finalised for the by-election.
Polling staff and election materials had also been dispatched.
GBA-09 has 61 polling stations, of which 25 have been declared sensitive under Category A, 11 have been placed in Category B as medium-sensitive, and 25 have been classified as normal under Category C, Mr Murad said.
‘Personnel from GB Police, GB Scouts and the armed forces have been deployed accordingly,’ he added.
Separately, GB Chief Secretary Arshad Majeed and the GB CEC held a meeting on Friday to review security arrangements, law and order and preparations at polling stations.’The chief election commissioner expressed his determination to conduct transparent, impartial and peaceful elections, while the chief secretary assured full cooperation from the provincial government,’ a statement issued after the meeting said.
Local journalist Shakoor Abdullah told Dawn that voters in the constituency were enthusiastic about exercising their right to vote.
Nashad’s disqualification According to Forms 47 and 48 issued by the GB Election Commission, Fida Muhammad Nashad, a veteran politician and PPP candidate, had won the GBA-09 seat in the June 7 general elections.
On July 9, the court disqualified Mr Nashad for concealing his assets in his nomination papers and set aside the GB Chief Court’s decision that had allowed him to contest the election.-Jamil Nagri