Polls underway for 7 reserved seats in AJK Legislative Assembly

Electoral polls are currently in progress for seven designated seats within the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly. Voting commenced at 10am and will conclude at 1pm. The Legislative Assembly comprises 53 members, with 45 elected through direct votes and eight chosen by directly elected representatives. The seven reserved seats encompass five for women, one for Ulema-i-Din or Mashaikh well-versed in Islamic teachings, one for Jammu and Kashmir State subjects residing abroad, and one for technocrats and other professionals.

PML-N's Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Arain successfully secured a seat reserved for state subjects residing abroad, being declared elected unopposed. However, elections for seven out of the 45 directly elected seats could not proceed due to the region's law and order situation. Consequently, the 38 members elected thus far, representing 84.4% of the directly elected membership, will participate in the reserved seat elections.

Six candidates are vying for the five seats reserved for women, including PML-N's Riffat Abid, Sehrish Qamar, Maryam Idrees and Maryam Zaman (also known as Maryam Kashmiri), PPP's Farzana Yaqoob and Zobia Khurshid Raja. For the reserved seat for Ulema and Mashaikh, PPP's Hafiz Tariq Mahmood is contesting against PML-N's Mohammad Mazhar Saeed.

Additionally, PML-N's Barrister Syed Iftikhar Gillani and PPP's Sahibzada Zulfiqar Ali are running for the seat reserved for technocrats and professionals. With the incoming Legislative Assembly's inaugural session set for 2pm on Monday, following the announcement of results, all newly elected members will take their oath before outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who failed to retain his position in the elections.