GB Tribunal Suspends PPP Lawmaker, Orders Re-poll

The GB tribunal suspends PPP lawmaker Attaullah Shah from the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly and has ordered re-polling at three polling stations in his constituency, GBA-16 Diamer-II, within 12 days. The decision, announced on Friday, is the latest turn in a seat that has already changed hands twice since the June elections.

Gilgit-Baltistan Election Tribunal Judge Mushtaq Mohammad suspended Mr Shah’s membership and directed the chief election commissioner to hold the re-poll within 12 days of November 6. The order came after Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Imam Malik challenged the results at three polling stations and asked the tribunal to order fresh voting there.

GB tribunal suspends PPP lawmaker over a seat decided by 13 votes

The fight for GBA-16 Diamer-II has run for five months. In the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections held in June this year, the election commission first declared independent candidate Imam Malik, who later joined the IPP, the winner from the constituency.

PPP candidate Attaullah Shah challenged that result before the election tribunal. He argued that the returning officer had issued Form-49, the consolidated result, without counting postal ballots. On September 11, Judge Mushtaq Mohammad suspended Mr Malik’s membership and directed the returning officer to complete the verification and counting of postal ballots by September 16.

The recount changed the result. Under the revised consolidated results issued by the election commission on Form-49, Mr Shah secured 6,618 votes and defeated Mr Malik by a margin of just 13 votes. Mr Malik then challenged the tribunal’s decision before the GB Supreme Appellate Court. On September 19, the appellate court dismissed his appeal against the suspension of his membership and upheld the tribunal’s decision declaring Mr Shah the returned candidate.

Mr Malik did not stop there. He later challenged the results at three polling stations and petitioned the election tribunal to order re-polling. On Friday, the tribunal accepted his plea, suspended Mr Shah’s membership, and directed re-polling at the three stations within 12 days of November 6.

What the re-poll will decide

The re-poll covers only three polling stations, but the margin is so thin that it could flip the seat again. Mr Shah won the recount by 13 votes out of more than 13,000 cast, so a small shift at three stations could hand the seat back to Mr Malik. Both sides will now watch the fresh voting closely, and either side could return to the tribunal if it disputes the new count.

The case also shows how postal ballots can decide a close race. Mr Shah’s entire claim rested on ballots that the returning officer had left uncounted when Form-49 was first issued. The tribunal’s September order forced the count, and the count changed the winner. The same tribunal has now accepted that the polling-station results themselves need a fresh test.

The wider picture in Gilgit-Baltistan

The tribunal’s decision lands as Gilgit-Baltistan’s administration tries to modernise its public services. The region has launched an online system for tax exemptions on goods from China, which aims to cut delays for traders. Clean election results matter just as much for public trust, since a disputed seat leaves a constituency without a stable voice in the assembly.

Election disputes have also reached the courts elsewhere. The Federal Constitutional Court rejected a JUI-F appeal over a reserved seat on November 5, which shows how often election results now end up before judges. An electoral reforms panel brings the main parties together to address complaints about rigging, and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged all parties to join that reform process rather than keep disputing results in isolation.

What happens next

The chief election commissioner must arrange re-polling at the three polling stations within 12 days of November 6, which sets a deadline of November 18. Once the fresh votes are counted, the tribunal’s order will take effect on the result. Until then, GBA-16 Diamer-II has no sitting member, and its voters wait to learn who will represent them.

Frequently asked questions

Why was Attaullah Shah suspended?

The election tribunal accepted IPP candidate Imam Malik’s plea to challenge the results at three polling stations in GBA-16 Diamer-II. It suspended Mr Shah’s membership and ordered re-polling at those stations within 12 days of November 6.

How did the seat change hands twice?

The election commission first declared Imam Malik the winner in June. Attaullah Shah challenged the result because postal ballots had not been counted. A tribunal-ordered recount gave Mr Shah 6,618 votes, a win by 13 votes, and the appellate court upheld that result in September.

When will re-polling take place?

The tribunal directed the chief election commissioner to conduct re-polling at the three polling stations within 12 days of November 6, which sets a deadline of November 18.

What happens after the re-poll?

The fresh votes at the three stations will be counted, and the result will decide who holds the seat. Either side could return to the tribunal if it disputes the new count.