MUZAFFARABAD: Polling began on Monday for eight reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly as authorities moved to complete the composition of the 53-member house following the recently held general elections.
The reserved seats comprise five seats for women, one for a technocrat, one for Ulema and Mashaikh, and one for an overseas Kashmiri representative.
Voting started at 10am at the AJK Legislative Assembly building in Muzaffarabad and is scheduled to continue until 2pm. The secretary of the AJK Election Commission is serving as the presiding officer for the polling process.
The election of the reserved-seat members is an important step in moving forward with the formation of the new legislative setup in the region.
Speaker and Deputy Speaker Elections to Follow
Once polling for the reserved seats is completed and the newly elected members are formally notified, they are expected to take oath as members of the AJK Legislative Assembly.
The process will then move towards the election and oath-taking of the assembly’s speaker and deputy speaker.
The appointments are expected to provide the legislative house with its key office-bearers and allow parliamentary proceedings to move ahead under the new political configuration.
However, the formation of the government is taking place before the full house is completely represented, as elections in seven constituencies in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts have yet to be held.
PML-N Emerges as Largest Party
The current political balance in the AJK Assembly follows the recently concluded three-phase general elections.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the largest party, securing 25 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 11 seats.
During the first phase, elections were held in 13 constituencies across Mirpur Division. The PML-N won nine seats, while the PPP secured four.
The second phase was held on August 2 across eight constituencies in Muzaffarabad Division as well as all 12 refugee constituencies. The PML-N won 15 seats in this phase, compared with six secured by the PPP.
In the third phase, elections were contested in two constituencies, with the PML-N and PPP winning one seat each. These results brought their overall tallies to 25 and 11 seats respectively.
Voting underway at 23 polling stations in AJK’s Bagh
PPP Raises Rigging Allegations
The elections have also been accompanied by political controversy.
The PPP raised allegations of rigging and questioned the conduct of the electoral process. Following the second phase of polling, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticised the federal government and indicated that his party would intensify its political opposition.
The PML-N rejected the allegations.
PML-N President Nawaz Sharif also called on political stakeholders to avoid allowing political differences to turn into personal or political enmity. He expressed concern over the political environment in AJK and stressed the importance of constructive engagement.
New Assembly Faces Key Challenges
With voting on the reserved seats now underway, attention is focused on completing the legislative structure and beginning the next phase of government formation.
The upcoming elections for speaker and deputy speaker will be closely watched as they will help determine the direction of proceedings in the new assembly.
At the same time, the unresolved elections in seven constituencies mean that the political structure of AJK is not yet fully settled. The new government and opposition will therefore have to navigate both the remaining electoral process and the political disagreements that have emerged during the elections.
