The election campaigns for the upcoming General Elections in Azad Jammu & Kashmir got momentum after the returning officers unveiled the list of eligible candidates in all 45 constituencies of the AJK legislative assembly.
The upcoming legislative assembly would consist of 53 seats out of which, upon 33 seats, candidates will be elected through direct elections whereas 12 are meant for Pakistan-based Jammu & Kashmir refugees. Out of 8 seats out of which, 5 are reserved for women, 1 for Ulama & Mashaikh, 1 for Technocrat and 1 for overseas Kashmiris, candidates will be elected indirectly.
The incumbent 49-seat AJK Legislative Assembly is going to complete its stipulated constitutional life next month.
Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections-2021 will be held on July 25, this year according to the schedule announced by the AJK Chief Election Commissioner Justice(Retd) Abdul Rasheed Sultehriya.
All the political parties of power politics preparing to jump into the arena of contesting the elections, have so far nominated their respective candidates to the elections.
Hundreds of independent candidates have also landed in the field to contest in all the 45 electoral constituencies including 33 in all 10 AJK districts and 12 means of Jammu and Kashmir refugees settled in various parts of Pakistan. These seats will be filled in through direct voting on adult-franchise basis.
Main stream political parties participating in the elections are Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muslim Conference, Jamaat e Islami, Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party and others.