Gilgit-Baltistan; Election campaigns in full swing

ISLAMABAD, Election campaigns of various political parties are full swing in Gilgit-Baltistan. As many as total 264 candidates are contesting for 24 seats of Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, a private TV channel reported. For the election to be held on Nov 12, there are 23 candidates contesting from PPP, 20 from MQM, 14 from PML-N, 14 from PML-Q, 6 from Jamiat-e Ulema-e Islam, 3 from Jamaat-e Islami, 10 from the Gilgit-Baltistan Democratic Alliance, 4 from the ANP and 2 from TIP and 2 from Balawaristan National Front. According to the election commission, there are 166 independent candidates in the field. The Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Election Commissioner Raheem Durrani said that law-enforcement agencies have been called for maintaining law and order in the region. After the death of the constituency LA-19 candidate Sher Bahadur, MQM now has 19 candidates.