Daily Times

The 11th general elections of Azad Jammu and Kashmir will be held on July 25, the region’s election commission announced Thursday.

Elections will be held in 33 constituencies of Azad Kashmir and 12 constituencies of Muhajireen Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, four constituencies have been added to this election as compared to the previous polls.

According to the Election Commission, 2.82 million voters will exercise their right to vote in Azad Kashmir, of which 1.59 million are male voters, while 1.297 million are female voters. The commission said that nomination papers can be submitted till June 21 and scrutiny of papers will be done till June 22 while the list will be released on the same day.

According to the Election Commission, objections can be lodged till June 28 and 29 and appeals can be lodged till June 30, while nomination papers will be returned by July 2.

It should be noted that the AJK Assembly’s terms will end on July 29, but so far, the schedule for the new election has not been issued.

Earlier, the NCOC had suggested postponing the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir election by two months. In this connection, the NCOC had written a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner of AJK, stating that due to the rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the country, the polls should be delayed. The letter said that large political gatherings due to elections will lead to the further spread of the potentially deadly virus in the state, adding that the number of coronavirus positive cases are already high therein.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider had responded that just like by-polls took in Pakistan despite the pandemic, elections in Azad Kashmir should also be conducted and cannot be postponed.