Polling Continues Across Second Phase of AJK Elections Today

Muzaffarabad: (News Desk) -Polling is in progress for the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, with voting taking place for nine seats in the Muzaffarabad Division and 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees. Voting began at 8:00 am and will continue uninterrupted until 5:00 pm.

Election authorities have established 1,483 polling stations across the Muzaffarabad Division. At the same time, Kashmiri refugees living in different cities across Pakistan are casting their votes for six Jammu and six Kashmir Valley refugee seats.

In Karachi, polling is underway for Jammu-1 and Kashmir Valley-1 constituencies, where 34 polling stations have been set up. The Jammu-1 constituency has 698 registered voters in Karachi, while Kashmir Valley-1 has around 4,200 registered voters.

Voting is also being held in Rawalpindi and Islamabad for three refugee constituencies, including LA-43 Valley-4, LA-44 Valley-5, and LA-39 Jammu-6. A total of 12 candidates are contesting LA-43 Valley-4, eight candidates are in the race for LA-44 Valley-5, and 14 hopefuls are competing for LA-39 Jammu-6.

Among the prominent candidates, PPP’s Javed Butt, PML-N’s Muhammad Yasin, and IPP’s Hamza Majeed are contesting in LA-43 Valley-4. In LA-44 Valley-5, the main contenders include PML-N’s Ahmed Raza Qadri, PPP’s Muhammad Rashid Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Hanif Manzoor Dar, and Muslim Conference’s Mehrunnisa.

For LA-39 Jammu-6, the key candidates include PPP’s Chaudhry Fakhar Zaman, PML-N’s Raja Muhammad Siddique, and IPP’s Muhammad Tahir Khokhar.

According to election officials, LA-43 Valley-4 has 3,346 registered voters, including more than 1,600 women. LA-44 Valley-5 has 6,996 registered voters, of whom 3,294 are female. Meanwhile, LA-39 Jammu-6 has nearly 37,000 registered voters and covers areas including Chakwal, Jhelum, Attock, Peshawar, and Talagang.

The District Election Commission has set up 10 polling stations for LA-43 Valley-4, 27 polling stations for LA-44 Valley-5, and 155 polling stations for LA-39 Jammu-6 to facilitate voters.

Overall, Muzaffarabad Division has 890,621 registered voters participating in the elections, including 427,955 men and 381,666 women.