rki.news
Altaf Hamid Rao

MIRPUR (AJK), July 21: The Election Commission of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has revised the schedule for the July 27 Legislative Assembly elections, announcing that polling will now be conducted in three phases to strengthen security arrangements and ensure peaceful elections.
Chief Election Commissioner Justice (R) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal announced the revised schedule during a press conference at the Election Commission Office on Tuesday, accompanied by Senior Member Khawaja Muhammad Ahsan, Member Syed Nazir-ul-Hassan Gilani, and Secretary Raja Muhammad Shakeel Khan.
Under the new plan, polling in Mirpur Division will proceed on July 27 as originally scheduled. Voting in Muzaffarabad Division and for the 12 refugee seats in Pakistan will take place on August 2, while Poonch Division will go to the polls on August 10.
Justice Mughal said the revised timetable was finalized after consultations with all political parties. He reaffirmed the Election Commission’s commitment to holding free, fair, transparent, impartial, and peaceful elections.
He also announced that international observers and journalists would be granted full access to monitor the electoral process, while presiding officers would provide polling results to polling agents immediately after voting concludes.
Explaining the phased polling, the Chief Election Commissioner said the staggered schedule would facilitate the effective deployment of security forces, which are currently engaged in other parts of the country.
He further noted that around 25,000 government employees had cast their votes peacefully during the previous day’s polling and expressed confidence that voters across AJK would participate enthusiastically in the democratic process.