Election commission announces Feb 14 polls for union, district councils; assembly elections set for Jan 24
Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission. Photo: ecgb.gov.pk/
Elected local bodies are set to return to Gilgit-Baltistan after a 21-years. The region’s election commission has announced that polls for the local government will take place on February 14, 2026, from 8.00am to 4.00pm.
Chief Election Commissioner, Raja Shahbaz Khan, issued a notification on Monday, confirming that the elections will cover various local tiers, including Union Councils, District Councils, and Municipal Corporations.
The process will follow the Elections Act, 2017, and the Gilgit-Baltistan Local Government Act, 2014. The submissions for nomination papers will open from December 22, lasting until December 26. The final candidate list will be issued on January 15, 2026, following the scrutiny and appeal process.
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Khan emphasised the institutional commitment to fairness, stating, “the transparent electoral process is considered the key instrument in democracy.” He added that his vision is to make Gilgit-Baltistan’s Election Commission more energetic, delivering its constitutional mandate by organising and conducting the elections honestly.
Senior judicial officers have been appointed as District Returning Officers across all ten districts to ensure the smooth conduct of the polls.
The elections are considered a crucial step towards rejuvenating grassroots democracy and local decision-making power, which critics consistently argued had weakened since the last local elections in 2004.
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Separately, the Election Commission confirmed that the General Elections for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly are scheduled for January 24, 2026. To prepare for this, the election commission has called an All-Party Conference (APC) for December 18, at 11.00am.
The chief election commissioner stressed that the APC’s goal is to understand the opinions, suggestions, and input of all political parties. He expects the consultation to ensure the electoral process is “clean, transparent, fair, and in accordance with democratic principles.”
