AJK election commissioner announces phase-wise polls beginning July 27

The Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, announced on Tuesday that elections in the region would be held in three phases.

According to the election commissioner, Mirpur Division will vote first on July 27, Muzaffarabad Division on August 2 and Poonch Division on August 10.

The announcement marked a revision to the earlier single-day election schedule.

The AJK election commission had previously announced July 27, 2026, as the date for general elections across all constituencies of the AJK Legislative Assembly, with polling to be held from 8am to 5pm.

At least 1,265 candidates have submitted their nomination papers in total 45 AJK constituencies, including 12 refugee constituencies, for the upcoming elections, The News reported.

Some 1047 candidates have filed their nomination papers against 33 constituencies within the territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while as many as 218 candidates have filed their nomination papers against 12 Kashmiri refugee seats.

According to AJK Election Commission, the scrutiny process in 45 constituencies have been completed, and the body has rejected 41 nomination papers on legal grounds.

A total of 6,983 polling stations and 10,913 polling booths will be set up for 3,804,368 voters to elect representatives for 33 Azad Kashmir region seats and 12 migrant seats. Of these, 3,365,685 voters will exercise their right to vote at 5,926 polling stations in AJK. Of the total voters in AJK, 52 per cent are male, and 48 per cent are female.

A total of 22 political parties are participating in the elections. Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has boycotted the polls in solidarity with the ongoing protests in the region.

The PTI, which had been planning to field its candidates as independents after once again failing to secure an election symbol, announced it would not participate in what it described as the politics of power that ignores the voice of the Kashmiri people.

On the other hand, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and JUI-F have formed an alliance, under which the PPP ceded LA-14 (Bagh-I) and LA-23 (Poonch and Sudhanoti-VI) to the JUI-F. PPP candidates are contesting the remaining 43 seats.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has fielded 44 candidates, IPP 38, Muslim Conference 36, JI 36, PNP 14, while JKPP is contesting nine seats.

Political parties have stepped up campaigning through corner meetings and rallies across the region. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived in AJK on July 14, 2026, and is leading his party’s campaign.

PML-N President Nawaz Sharif is expected to address a rally in Muzaffarabad on July 21 and another in Mirpur on July 24.

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