AJK Election First Phase Begins Across Mirpur Division Today

MIRPUR: (Staff Reporter) – The first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections commenced on Monday morning across 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division, with polling starting at 8:00am. Election authorities said comprehensive arrangements had been made to ensure the voting process remained peaceful, transparent, and fair.

The AJK Legislative Assembly elections are being conducted for 45 constituencies, including 33 territorial seats and 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees residing in Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. For the first time, the AJK Election Commission has adopted a three-phase polling schedule, citing security and administrative requirements.

Voting will continue until 5:00pm, while the governments declared a public holiday in the districts of Mirpur, Bhimber, and Kotli to enable voters to participate without inconvenience.

A total of 288 candidates are contesting the first phase in 13 constituencies. Polling is taking place at 2,316 polling stations, with 1,241 categorised as highly sensitive and another 724 marked as sensitive by the Election Commission.

Major political parties in the contest include the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, Muslim Conference, and several others. Overall, 22 political parties are taking part in the elections. Across all 45 constituencies, 1,265 candidates are in the race, including 1,047 for territorial seats and 218 for refugee constituencies.

Authorities have implemented a three-layer security plan, deploying 18,560 personnel from police and law enforcement agencies. Police will provide the first security layer, Rangers and the Federal Constabulary the second, while the Pakistan Army will oversee the third layer. Around 2,100 Army personnel have been stationed across the division, supported by Quick Response Force teams prepared to handle emergencies.

The remaining phases of the elections are scheduled for August 2 and August 10. The second phase will cover nine constituencies in Muzaffarabad Division along with all 12 refugee constituencies, while the final phase will be held in 11 constituencies of Poonch Division.

More than 1.4 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots during the first phase, including over 400,000 in Mirpur, around 350,000 in Bhimber, and more than 650,000 in Kotli.

Meanwhile, polling at one station in Kotli was briefly delayed after polling agents failed to arrive on time. Election staff were present at Polling Station No. 1718, located at Colonel Mahmood Government Boys Middle School in Gulpur, while voting awaited the arrival of candidate representatives.