THE June 07 elections in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) produced no clear winner but the region is expected to witness an extension of the coalition arrangement at the Centre, with the only difference that instead of PML(N), the coalition will be headed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which emerged as the single largest party.
The PPP got 11 seats, followed by PML(N) 06, independents 04, PTI backed candidates 02 and its ally MWM 01.
It was a hotly contested election participated by all major parties and electables and attracted senior political leadership to the region to promote prospects of victory for their candidates. As was expected, the opposition PTI has leveled allegations of rigging with its Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan claiming the party was barred from campaigning in the days leading up to the election and that it was part of a “planned arrangement aimed at eliminating the party from the polls”. He alleged that due to “rigging, vote-stuffing and the casting of bogus votes”, PTI’s “victory” was overturned. His version of voting notwithstanding, there was no worthwhile complaint or substantive allegations of rigging barring sporadic instances that are normal in every election. The outcome of the polls was surprising in the sense that normally the party in power in Islamabad had been winning GB elections in the past but this time PML(N) lost it to the coalition partner PPP. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has displayed sportsman spirit by extending congratulations to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan on the successful, transparent, peaceful and politically vibrant conduct of the general election and felicitated the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for emerging as the largest political party in the region. The PM also congratulated the successful candidates of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) who put up strong competition, besides praising the party’s team for their hard work and dedication. He said the party’s team had worked hard during the campaign and deserved recognition for its efforts.
There is no doubt that the PML(N) launched an elaborate campaign, sensitizing voters about the difference of governmental performance in Punjab and Sindh and also showcasing some of the major initiatives of the party in Punjab that have widely been appreciated by people of Pakistan. However, it seems the voter was more concerned about price-hike and financial squeezing witnessed by families all across Pakistan due to the tax-driven policies of the PML(N) Government. There are legitimate complaints that the Federal Government has miserably failed to offer any worthwhile relief to the masses and instead is misusing the IMF accord and the situation created by the Gulf war to put additional burden on the common man. There is also an impression that the Government has shown insensitivity towards the plight of fixed income groups whose income is squeezing rapidly in the face of a sharp rise in inflation. In fact, what the Government is doing by jacking up petroleum levy every now and then and using foul tactics to extort money through electricity and gas bills is weighing heavily on the minds of the general public despite model governance in Punjab. As against this, the PPP leadership always identifies itself with the causes of the layman and the party is rightly considered as pro-poor and pro-government employees. It is also a fact that the party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari spent a considerable time in GB, participated in election campaigns of the party candidates and promoted a narrative that mattered much for people of the region. The PPP positioned itself as the main protector of the region’s political and economic future, effectively conveying a message that it was in a position to influence the process leading to grant of due rights to people of GB under the framework of the 18th constitutional amendment. For PML(N), it is time for self-accountability as even campaigning by its heavy-weight leader Mian Nawaz Sharif could not improve victory prospects for the party.
