Polls underway for 7 reserved seats in AJK Legislative Assembly today

Polls are currently taking place for seven reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly. Voting commenced at 10am and will continue until 1pm. According to Article 22(1) of the AJK Constitution, the Legislative Assembly comprises 53 members, consisting of 45 directly elected members and eight chosen by directly elected representatives.

The reserved seats encompass five for women, one each for Ulema-i-Din or Mashaikh well-versed in Islamic teachings, Jammu and Kashmir State subjects residing abroad, and technocrats and other professionals. PML-N's Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Arain was the sole candidate for the seat reserved for state subjects residing abroad and was unopposed, thus declared elected.

However, elections for seven out of the 45 directly elected seats could not proceed due to the region's law and order situation. As a result, the 38 members elected thus far, representing 84.4 percent of the directly elected membership, will take part in the reserved seat elections. Six candidates are vying for five seats reserved for women, with representatives from the PML-N, PPP, and other parties.

The seat reserved for Ulema and Mashaikh will see a contest between PPP's Hafiz Tariq Mahmood and PML-N's Mohammad Mazhar Saeed. Similarly, PML-N's Barrister Syed Iftikhar Gillani and PPP's Sahibzada Zulfiqar Ali will face off for the seat reserved for technocrats and professionals. The Legislative Assembly's inaugural session is set to commence at 2pm on Monday, following the announcement of the election results.