GILGIT: Candidates backed by the ruling coalition were elected unopposed to the top positions of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly on Monday following a power-sharing agreement between coalition partners.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Imran Nadeem was elected unopposed as the new Speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.
Following the election, outgoing Speaker Nazir Ahmed Advocate administered the oath of office to Nadeem, who then assumed charge of the assembly proceedings.
In another uncontested election, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Malik Kifayat-ur-Rehman was elected unopposed as the deputy speaker of the assembly.
Speaker Imran Nadeem subsequently administered the oath of office to Kifayat-ur-Rehman.
The unopposed elections came after the PPP, PML-N and the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) reached a power-sharing agreement earlier in the day to form a coalition government in the strategically important Gilgit-Baltistan region.
The agreement paved the way for consensus appointments to the assembly’s two highest legislative offices, reflecting cooperation among the coalition partners as they move to establish the new provincial administration.
