AJK Election Commission announces schedule for election on reserved seats

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission has announced the schedule for elections to eight reserved seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, with the polling for the eight reserved seats scheduled for August 24.

Under the schedule, candidates will submit their nomination papers on August 20, while the final list of candidates will be released on August 23, the commission said.

The seats include five reserved for women and three for technocrats, for which voting will take place in the AJK Assembly.

The development follows the recently concluded AJK general elections, which were held in three phases. The PML-N emerged as the largest party, winning 25 seats, while the PPP secured 11 seats. The PPP had alleged rigging during the polls.

In the first phase, held across 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division, the PML-N won nine seats and the PPP four. The second phase, held on August 2 in eight constituencies of Muzaffarabad Division and all 12 refugee constituencies, saw the PML-N win 15 seats and the PPP six.

With results from two constituencies in the third phase, the PML-N’s tally reached 25 seats, while the PPP’s stood at 11.

The PPP alleged rigging and its Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari even said that the federal government’s “countdown has begun.

“To my friends in the PML-N, can you hear that sound?” The countdown for the federal government has begun,” the PPP chairman said in a video message after the second phase.

Separately, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif that rivalry was a normal part of politics but differences should not be allowed to escalate into enmity.

“This is the first time that this environment has been created in Azad Kashmir, which is a cause of concern for all of us,” Nawaz said. “This has happened because the previous governments did not fulfil their duty.”