According to unofficial and unconfirmed reports the results of 44 polling have been released. Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Shah Saleem Khan has secured 3425 votes, while independent candidate Obaidullah Beg was placed second with 3057 votes.
Seven candidates were contesting the election including Wazir Beg of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Aziz Ahmed of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The seat became vacant after Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan became the fifth governor of Gilgit-Baltistan after Barjees Tahir. His son and winner Shah Saleem Khan had been nominated for the by-election on a PML-N ticket.
Shah Saleem hails from the family of the Mir of Hunza which existed as a sovereign state till 1976. His brother Shehzad Khan participated in the 2009 elections but was unsuccessful.
Chief Minister GB Hafeezur Rehman and PML-N regional head had formed a committee in May which had recommended to provide the ticket to him much to the dismay of other local leaders.
The voting started at 08.00 AM and continued till 04.00 pm without any break. There were security measures taken to avoid any untoward incident in the election.
Over 36,000 registered voters in the constituency were expected to exercise their right to vote for which Election Commission Gilgit Baltistan has set up 64 polling stations.
