GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja Shahbaz Khan on Thursday announced a revised schedule for local body elections in the region, according to which the polling for municipal corporation seats in the towns of Chilas, Skardu and Gilgit has been fixed for Dec 5.
Local government (LG) polls in GB — announced last year after a gap of more than two decades — were originally set to take place on Feb 14, 2026. However, they have since been postponed repeatedly due to various factors, the most recent being harsh weather conditions and amendments to the Local Government Act.
Addressing a press conference at the GB Election Commission Secretariat on Thursday, the CEC said LG elections would be conducted in two phases.
He said that in the first phase, polling for municipal corporation seats would be held in Chilas, Skardu and Gilgit on Dec 5, while elections for district councils, municipal committees and union councils would be held in April next year.
The GB CEC said the government had completed the amendments to the 2014 Local Government Act, paving the way for the long-delayed LG elections in the region, which he noted had not been held for the last 22 years.
Khan said the election for local bodies had previously been delayed several times following requests from the government and other stakeholders.
According to him, he had initially proposed that the elections be held in February, after announcing a schedule in December of last year. However, the government had requested a delay due to severe weather conditions during the winter.
A revised schedule was subsequently prepared for August this year, with polling initially planned for September. But the GB government later requested additional time to amend the LG Act, resulting in another postponement, the CEC said.
He said the government had been given time to complete the amendments, which had now been finalised, adding that he had held a meeting with Chief Minister Amjad Hussain to discuss the revised election schedule.
“The GB Local Government Act 2026 was introduced by the PPP government, and the credit for holding elections under the same law also goes to the party,” he said.
The CEC highlighted that several important changes had been made to the act after the amendments, including that independent candidates were now allowed to contest the LG elections that were previously to be held on a party basis.
The previous system included seven categories of local government bodies covering urban and rural areas, he said. “These included town committees, municipal committees, municipal corporations, union councils, tehsil councils and district councils.”
Under the amended law, he continued, the system has been simplified into four categories: district councils, union councils, municipal committees, and municipal corporations.
Elections to all four categories would be held under a multi-ward system, which the commissioner said would make the process simpler.
District councils, union councils and municipal committees would have chairmen and vice-chairmen, while municipal corporations would have mayors and deputy mayors, he explained.
Under the new system, municipal corporations have been established in the cities of Chilas, Gilgit and Skardu, where elected members will choose mayors and deputy mayors.
Additionally, union councils and district councils have been established across all districts, with a 17pc quota allocated for women in all local bodies.
“It was decided that elections would initially be held in the municipal corporations of Gilgit, Chilas and Skardu, while district councils and union councils would also operate in these areas,” the CEC said.
He added that seven districts of GB — Hunza, Nagar, Ghizer, Astore, Kharmang, Ghanche and Shigar — would have district councils, union councils and municipal committees.
According to the schedule, public notices for the municipal corporation elections will be issued on Oct 24, while nomination papers will be filed from Oct 26-29 and polling is scheduled for Dec 5 in Gilgit, Chilas and Skardu.
Replying a question, the CEC said that elections in seven districts and remote areas had been scheduled for April next year due to harsh weather and snowfall.