Polls in Azad Jammu and Kashmir are supposed to take place on July 25 for the election of new members of the region’s Legislative Assembly.
It is to be noted that AJK has its own system that is separate from the government of Pakistan. Like Pakistan, the region has a parliamentary form of government with a president, prime minister, supreme court, high court and an independent election commission. However, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, is the highest office holder of the region as the chairman of the Kashmir Council.
There are 53 members of the Legislative Assembly, out of which 33 are directly elected from the 10 districts of AJK. 12 seats out of the total of 53 are for Kashmiri refugees living in the four provinces of Pakistan.
The assembly also consists of a single seat for overseas Kashmiris and five seats are reserved for women. Moreover, one seat is reserved for Ulema-e-Din or Mashaikh and one for a technocrat.
An noteworthy observation is that even during military dictatorship in Pakistan, the political process has continued in the AJK region. The governance of the region also remains undisturbed if a rival political party has a federal government in Pakistan.
The polls of the region are also watched internationally as the polls in AJK are compared with the elections held in occupied Kashmir. This was the main reason that in 2006, EU observers were present to oversee the election in AJK.
This year, 32 parties including the AJK chapters of mainstream Pakistani political parties are participating in the elections.
The region has 3.2 million voters, out of which 1.75 million are male and 1.46 million are female