• Election chief cancels dates following strong opposition from a multiparty conference
• 14 parties argue harsh winter will prevent remote voters
• New dates not announced yet, with May 2026 being considered for simultaneous polls

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shehbaz Khan on Thursday announced a delay of general elections and local bodies polls due to harsh weather conditions in the region, after a multiparty conference held to consult political parties on the holding of the elections.

The General Elections of the Assembly and local government (LG) elections have been scheduled for January 24 and February 14, 2026, respectively.

The LG polls are going to be conducted in the region after a gap of 20 years.

“The new polling dates for both elections will be announced later,” Mr Khan said.

After the GB Assembly completed its five-year tenure on November 24, President Asif Ali Zardari announced the general elections date as it is mandatory to conduct elections within 60 days, while the GB election commissioner also announced the date of local bodies polls.

Meanwhile, the GB Election Commission convened a multiparty conference (MPC), including leaders of the PML-N, PPP, PTI and JUI, on Thursday at its secretariat to consult political parties on the holding of elections in January and February.

The GB CEC later said the meeting was convened to seek views of the political parties, their suggestions and guidance on key electoral matters to make the process effective, transparent and in line with democratic principles.

Representatives of the political parties attended the consultative meeting and shared their views and suggestions with the election commission, he said.

While 14 political parties opposed the holding of elections in January and February due to harsh weather conditions in the region that cut off many areas from the rest of the region, six party leaders favoured the polling day, he said.

The leaders, who opposed the election dates, argued that people in the region could not use their right to vote due to the weather conditions.

Meanwhile, 14 petitions were submitted to the GB Election Commission challenging the polling day of the general elections and demanding the postponement of the polls.

Mr Khan agreed with the majo-rity opinions and announced to withdraw the general elec-tions and local bodies polls on January 24 and February 14, respectively.

According to a source, the commission was considering holding the general and local body elections simultaneously in the month of May 2026.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2025