MUZAFFARABAD: The number of registered voters in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has increased by more than half a million over the past five years, according to fresh electoral rolls released by the region’s Election Commission ahead of the upcoming legislative assembly elections.

The latest voter lists show that the electorate in AJK’s 45 constituencies has risen to 3,804,385, up from 3,220,546 in the 2021 elections — an increase of 583,839 voters.

Of the total electorate, 3,365,839 voters are registered in the 33 constituencies within AJK, while 438,546 are registered in the 12 constituencies in Pakistan reserved for refugees from occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

In the 2021 elections, 2,817,090 voters were registered in the 33 territorial constituencies, while 403,456 were registered in the 12 refugee constituencies. The latter included 373,652 voters in six constituencies representing migrants from Jammu and 29,804 voters in six constituencies representing migrants from the Kashmir Valley.

LA-7 Bhimber-III has the largest electorate with 129,994 voters

According to the fresh electoral rolls, the 33 territorial constituencies with 3,365,839 voters have recorded a rise of 548,749 voters.

In the 12 refugee constituencies in Pakistan, the electorate in the six Jammu refugee seats increased by 31,296 voters to 404,948, while the six Valley refugee seats recorded an increase of 3,794 voters, taking their total electorate to 33,598.

Figures released by the commission showed that the overall electorate comprises 2,001,730 male voters and 1,802,655 female voters.

Among the territorial constituencies, LA-7 Bhimber-III has the largest electorate with 129,994 voters, followed by LA-31 Muzaffarabad-V with 128,177 voters and LA-12 Kotli-V with 126,332 voters. The smallest constituency is LA-30 Muzaffarabad-IV, with 68,228 voters.

Of the 33 territorial constituencies, six have electorates ranging between 120,000 and 130,000, five between 110,000 and 120,000, eight between 100,000 and 110,000, six between 90,000 and 100,000, three between 80,000 and 90,000, four between 70,000 and 80,000, and one has fewer than 70,000 voters.

Among the Jammu refugee constituencies, LA-37 Jammu-IV has the highest number of voters at 111,203, while LA-39 Jammu-VI has the lowest at 37,639.

Among the Valley refugee constituencies, LA-45 Valley-VI has the largest electorate with 7,681 voters, while LA-43 Valley-IV has the smallest with 3,346 voters.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2026