- Bilawal addresses public rally in GB’s Ghizer ahead of polls.
- Would not be able to legislate for GB without majority: Bilawal.
- Other parties will not allow PPP’s legislation to pass: PPP chief.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has called on the people of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) to give his party a clear mandate in the upcoming June 7 elections.
As part of his election campaign, Bilawal was addressing a public gathering in GB’s Ghizer on Thursday.
“A mandate is needed from Gilgit so that we can go to Islamabad and say that before creating another province, the voice of Gilgit must be heard,” he told the gathering.
The OPP chief said that a jiyala (PPP loyalist) Chief Minister is needed in GB to secure land ownership rights for local residents.
Bilawal stated that PPP requires a majority mandate in the upcoming elections to implement the ownership law, adding that otherwise the party would not be able to legislate for Gilgit-Baltistan.
He further said that whether it is PML-N or any other party, they would not allow PPP’s legislation to be passed.
“It is necessary to form a PPP government so that people here can get ownership rights. Cultivable land is currently divisible and it must be made available to the people,” he added.
GB goes to the polls on June 7th to elect its 4th Legislative Assembly. The Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Ordinance of 2009, issued by President Asif Ali Zardari, aimed to give the region autonomy to govern itself.
In GB there are 963,034 registered voters, 506,097 men and 456,937 women, an increase of 29% since 2020. The gender gap between male and female voters has reduced to 4% from 8% in 2020.
Despite a visible increase in population, as reflected in the increase in registered voters, there has been no new delimitation in the region since 1994. An Electoral Commission source attributed this to the fact that the region’s census was kept confidential.
