Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s political process ahead of July 25 elections

Citizens of Azad Jammu and Kashmir will vote on July 25 to elect new members to the district’s Legislative Assembly.

Similar to Pakistan, the region has a parliamentary form of government with a president, Prime Minister, Supreme Court, high court, and an independent election commission.

Whereas, Prime Minister Imran Khan is the uppermost office holder of the region as the chairman of the Kashmir Council.

The legislative assembly consists of 53 members, out of which 33 are directly elected from the 10 districts of AJK. On the other hand, 12 seats are available for the Kashmiri refugees living in the four provinces of Pakistan.

On the contrary, the assembly has a single seat for overseas Kashmiris and five seats earmarked for women.

Meanwhile, one seat is reserved for Ulema-e-Din or Mashaikh and one for a technocrat.

The interesting part to note is that the AJK political process continues despite the martial laws executed in Pakistan.

The governance of the district also remains uninterrupted if a competing political party has a federal government in Pakistan.

The polls in the AJK are also watched internationally as the polls in the district are associated with the elections held in occupied Kashmir.

This was the core reason behind the 2006, EU observer’s presence to oversee the election in AJK.

Furthermore, 32 parties including the AJK chapters of mainstream Pakistani political parties are participating in the elections this year.

The region has 3.2 million voters, out of which 1.75 million are male and 1.46 million are female.

The final list of candidates for Elections 2021 issued:

The final list of candidates for the general elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir has been issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

A total of 724 people will stand for 45 general seats this year. Five hundred and seventy-nine candidates are contending for 33 constituencies within Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The remaining are competing for 12 refugee constituencies comprising four provinces of Pakistan.

On the contrary, EC has imposed a ban on transfers, promotions, and new appointments in all government institutions.