AJK legislative assembly. Photo: Express
ISLAMABAD:
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Chief Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal announced on Tuesday that the upcoming AJK elections would begin on July 27 as scheduled, but voting will now be held in three phases across different divisions, with the armed forces deployed to monitor the election process.
“As per the revised schedule, polling in Mirpur Division will be held on July 27, while Muzaffarabad Division and the 12 refugee constituencies will go to the polls on August 2. Elections in Poonch Division will take place on August 10,” Mughal said while addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad.
He further said that the election would be held under the supervision of the armed forces.
The announcement came at a politically charged time, with election campaigns entering their final week and authorities scrambling to complete logistical and security preparations for one of the most watched elections in the region.
A day earlier, AJK took a significant step towards its legislative assembly elections on July 27, when advance polls for conscription of government employees ended peacefully in eight districts, with an overwhelming turnout, and the election authorities declared themselves fully prepared to conduct what they promised would be free, fair and transparent elections.
The special polling exercise, considered the Election Commission’s first major test ahead of polling day, was held in all districts except Rawalakot and Sudhnoti, where polling was postponed due to security concerns. Despite the exceptions, officials described the process as smooth, orderly and incident-free, with voter turnout above 80 percent in almost all districts where voting took place.
With less than a week to go before the polls, both the PML-N and the PPP have stepped up their campaigns with senior national leaders making high-profile appearances in a bid to galvanize supporters and vote banks ahead of the contest for the 45-member AJK legislature.
Read: Over 80% turnout in AJK advance vote
Background
The latest unrest and deadly clashes erupted in areas including Rawalakot where the JAAC had held a sit-in outside the Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot. AJK police claim that armed JAAC members opened fire on deployed law enforcers in a planned attack, leaving four people dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this account and claims that security forces used tear gas and fired grenades at the hospital.
According to the AJK police, three people associated with JAAC and four policemen were killed during the protests. However, JAAC said in a statement that seven people were killed and dozens were injured when street shelling was carried out in the dark after electricity was reportedly cut.
AJK’s 53-member legislature includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees – people who fled Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1947 and 1965 and are now spread across Pakistan. Six seats represent refugees from the Jammu division (~434,000 people) and six from the Kashmir Valley (~30,000 people) – an already lopsided arrangement that many see as unfair.
Read more: Politics is ramping up ahead of the AJK elections on July 27
The region experienced one of its most turbulent periods last October, when protests led by JAAC broke out over demands for constitutional and government reforms. At least nine people, including three policemen, were killed during the unrest.
JAAC, which organized the protests and strike, had presented a comprehensive charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly spaces reserved for refugees and the abolition of the quota system.
Two days after the violence, the government and JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 core points and 13 additional points. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to set up a high-level committee to look into the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
