MUZAFFARABAD:
Government employees assigned electoral duties for the 2026 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) general elections will cast their votes on Monday (tomorrow) as per arrangements made by the AJK Election Commission (EC), enabling them to exercise their term before polling day.
According to senior member of AJK EC, Khawaja Ahsan, polling for polling staff will be held at designated polling stations established at district headquarters in respective districts to facilitate officials posted on polling duty.
AJK EC has directed all District Returning Officers (DROs), Returning Officers (ROs), District Administrations and other relevant departments to implement all necessary measures to ensure polling for polling staff is conducted in a transparent, orderly and timely manner.
According to the commission’s instructions, Ahsan said all officials assigned election duties have been asked to report to their designated polling stations on the scheduled date and time to cast their votes and strictly adhere to the procedures and code of conduct issued by the election commission.
OPP chairman
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is set to address a public election rally in Kotli on Sunday (today) as the party steps up its campaign for the July 27 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, following an encouraging response to its campaign launch in Dadyal.
The Kotli rally will be Bilawal’s second public gathering of the election campaign after he launched the party’s drive with a rally in Dadyal on July 17.
The PPP claims that its campaign has since gained significant momentum across AJK and that the party has further strengthened its position ahead of the polls.
PPP AJK media advisor SyedAzadar Hussain Shah said the Kotli rally would demonstrate the party’s public support and expressed confidence that Kashmiris would support the PPP’s narrative of “the right to self-governance, the right to ownership and the right to employment” by voting for the party’s candidates.
“This election is not only about forming a government but about securing the rights of the people of Kashmir and determining the future course of development, empowerment and prosperity,” he said.
Shah maintained that the large voter turnout and enthusiastic participation of party workers at the Dadyal rally had boosted the election campaign.
Fresh schedule for LA-24
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission (AJKEC) has issued a new election schedule for LA-24 Poonch-Sudhnoti-7 (Baloch) following the death of independent candidate Zahid Yasin.
According to an AJKEC spokesperson, the returning officer completed the election proceedings in the constituency under Section 45 of the AJK Election Act, 2020, after receiving a report of the death of the candidate. In accordance with the law, a new election schedule has now been published.
As per the revised schedule, candidates can submit their nomination papers to the returning officer at the district headquarters in Pallandri till July 21. Review of nomination papers will be conducted on July 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 12.00, after which the provisional list of validly nominated candidates will be published.
Appeals against the returning officer’s decisions can be lodged with AJKEC from July 23 to July 26 until 2 p.m. The commission will consider the complaints on July 28 and publish its decisions on the same day.
