MUZAFFARABAD: Polling has begun for eight reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly as the process to complete the composition of the house moves forward.
The reserved seats include five seats for women, one for a technocrat, one for Ulema and Mashaikh, and one seat for an overseas Kashmiri representative.
Polling started at 10am at the AJK Legislative Assembly building in Muzaffarabad and will continue until 2pm. The Secretary of the AJK Election Commission is serving as the presiding officer.
After the reserved seats election, the newly elected members are expected to take oath. The election and oath-taking of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will then be held.
The government formation process in the region is currently moving ahead without seven members, as elections in seven constituencies of Poonch and Sudhnoti districts are yet to be held.
In the recently completed three-phase general elections, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the largest party with 25 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured 11 seats.
In the first phase, held across 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division, the PML-N won nine seats while the PPP secured four.
In the second phase, held on August 2 across eight constituencies of Muzaffarabad Division and 12 refugee constituencies, the PML-N won 15 seats and the PPP secured six.
The results of two constituencies contested in the third phase gave one additional seat each to the PML-N and PPP, bringing their respective tallies to 25 and 11.
The elections were accompanied by allegations of rigging from the PPP, which raised questions over the conduct of the polling process.
Following the second phase, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticised the federal government and indicated that his party would intensify its political opposition.
The PML-N rejected the allegations, while party President Nawaz Sharif urged political stakeholders not to turn political differences into personal enmity. He also expressed concern over the political environment in the region and called for constructive engagement.
