The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission on Sunday announced the schedule for the election of reserved seats in the AJK Assembly, with polling scheduled for August 24.

In a notification, the Commission said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by Rule 76 (2) of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Elections Rules, 2020 (Election to Reserved Seats), the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission is pleased to call upon the directly elected members of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to elect members to the following reserved seats in the Assembly:

• Five seats reserved for women.
• One seat reserved for Ulema-e-Deen or Mushaikh.
• One seat reserved for Jammu & Kashmir State Subjects residing abroad; and
• One seat reserved for technocrats and other professionals.

According to the schedule, polling for the reserved seats will be held in the AJK Assembly on Aug 24 from 10am to 1pm.

On Aug 20, candidates can file their nomination papers with the returning officer (RO) from 9am to 2pm. After the deadline, the RO will scrutinise the nomination papers and publish a list of validly nominated candidates.

Under the schedule, appeals against the RO’s rejection or acceptance of nomination papers can be filed with the AJK Election Commission on Aug 21, from 9am to 12pm.

On Aug 22, the chief election commissioner will hear the appeals at his office from 9am to 12pm and announce his verdict on the appeals the following day between 1pm and 12pm.

Candidates can withdraw their appeals before 2pm on Aug 23.

Under Article 22(1) of the AJK Constitution, the assembly comprises 53 members, including 45 members elected directly on the basis of adult franchise and eight members elected by the directly elected members.

The latter include five women and one member each from among Ulema-e-Deen or Mashaikh well-versed in the teachings of Islam, Jammu and Kashmir state subjects residing abroad, and technocrats and other professionals.

However, elections to seven of the 45 directly elected seats — five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti district — could not be held due to the law and order situation. Consequently, the reserved-seat elections will be contested by the 38 directly elected members elected so far, accounting for 84.4 per cent of the total directly elected membership.

Nawaz chairs meeting on women’s reserved seats

PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting to discuss the reserved seats for women in the AJK Assembly, the party said.

“The meeting discussed in detail the issue of reserved seats for women in the AJK Assembly,” it said.

The participants appreciated the active and significant role of women in the AJK elections, terming it a welcome development for strengthening the democratic process, the party added.

AJK polls

The PML-N bagged 24 seats — nine from Mirpur division in the first phase on July 27 and 15 in the second phase on Aug 2 comprising Muzaffarabad Division and the 12 refugee seats.

The PPP, on the other hand, won only 10 constituencies during these phases.

The polls are being held in three phases amid unrest in the region.

The third phase, held last week, was originally meant to cover all of Poonch Division, which comprises 11 constituencies, including three in Bagh, one in Haveli, five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti district.

However, the AJK Election Commission announced that polling would only go ahead as scheduled in Bagh and Haveli because of concerns over the law and order situation.

The commission has yet to announce poll dates for the remaining seats.