AJK election commissioner says polls to be held in three phases beginning July 27

MUZAFFARABAD: Elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, initially planned for July 27, will now be conducted in three phases through August 10, according to the AJK Election Commission.

Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal announced the revised schedule at a press conference on Tuesday, saying the change was made to ensure army personnel would be available in sufficient numbers for security duties after consultation with participating political parties.

Under the new plan, polling will take place on July 27 in 13 constituencies of the Mirpur division, on August 2 in nine constituencies of the Muzaffarabad division along with all 12 refugee constituencies, and on August 10 in 11 constituencies of the Poonch division.

Mughal said the phased approach was intended to allow military contingents to move from one division to another so they could help maintain order during polling. He noted that the decision was taken against the backdrop of the security situation in AJK and other parts of Pakistan, where protests have taken place in recent weeks.

He said the Election Commission had spoken to political parties over the phone and that they had supported the revised schedule, even though a formal meeting could not be held after election material for Mirpur had already been dispatched. According to the CEC, the new arrangement would help ensure a free, fair and peaceful election under the supervision of the army and other paramilitary forces.

Mughal also said the stage-wise polling was not expected to have a major impact on results in constituencies voting later. He argued that voters generally remain loyal to their parties regardless of when their division goes to the polls.

On the question of result notifications, he said the commission was still considering whether official notifications for winners would be issued division by division or only after all constituencies had voted. He added that presiding officers would provide polling agents with Forms-24 at the close of polling, allowing them to learn unofficial results the same day.

Rejecting concerns that the phased schedule could raise transparency questions, Mughal said the revised arrangement was meant to strengthen transparency. He also dismissed suggestions that the volatile situation in Poonch could lead to that division being left out of the election altogether, saying the commission was constitutionally bound to hold polls even if conditions did not fully return to normal.

The CEC said the election body had tried to ensure that internet shutdowns would not interfere with reporting on polling day. He added that the commission’s role was limited to conducting elections, while broader decisions about the state remained outside its mandate.

Mughal reiterated that domestic and international observers were welcome and said the Election Commission had already extended an open invitation to monitor the polls. He was accompanied at the briefing by Senior Member Khawaja Muhammad Ahsan, Member Syed Nazeerul Hassan Gillani and Secretary Raja Muhammad Shakeel.

The amendment to the schedule, he later told Dawn, was made under Section 37 of the Jammu and Kashmir Elections Act, 2020, which allows the Election Commission to alter the programme after a notification has been issued if changes are deemed necessary.

The report is based on a monitored public feed from Dawn Home.

Source: Dawn Home - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017254/ajk-election-commissioner-says-polls-to-be-held-in-three-phases-beginning-july-27