Polling begins for eight reserved seats in AJK Legislative Assembly

• Voting to continue from 10am to 2pm at AJK assembly building.
• AJK Election Commission secretary serving as presiding officer.
• Newly-elected members to take oath after Assembly completion.
  

MUZAFFARABAD: Polling began on Monday for elections to eight reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, as the process to complete the composition of the house moved forward following the phased general elections.

The reserved seats include five for women, one for a technocrat, one for Ulema and Mashaikh, and one for an overseas Kashmiri representative.

Polling commenced at 10am and will continue until 2pm at the AJK Legislative Assembly building in Muzaffarabad. The secretary of the AJK Election Commission is serving as the presiding officer for the election.

Following the completion of the reserved seats election, the newly-elected members are expected to take the oath, after which the election and oath-taking of the assembly’s speaker and deputy speaker will take place.

The region’s government formation process is being carried out without seven members, as elections on seven constituencies in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts have yet to be held.

The election follows the recently concluded three-phase AJK general elections, in which the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the largest party with 25 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured 11.

In the first phase, elections held across 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division, the PML-N won nine seats and the PPP four.

During the second phase, conducted on August 2 in eight constituencies of Muzaffarabad Division and all 12 refugee constituencies, the PML-N secured 15 seats while the PPP won six.

Results from the two constituencies contested in the third phase added one seat each to the PML-N and PPP, taking their final tallies to 25 and 11 seats, respectively.

The elections were marred by allegations of rigging from the PPP, which questioned the conduct of the polling process.

Following the second phase of voting, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticised the federal government and signalled that his party would intensify its political opposition.

The PML-N rejected the allegations and its President Nawaz Sharif urged political stakeholders to avoid turning political rivalries into enmity, expressing concern over the prevailing political atmosphere in the region and stressing the need for constructive engagement.