AJK Reserved Seat Voting Underway as New Assembly Takes Shape
MUZAFFARABAD: Voting for reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly got underway on Monday as the region moved closer to completing the formation of its new parliamentary setup. Seven seats were being contested after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Abdul Rehman Arain was returned unopposed on the seat reserved for overseas Kashmiris.
The election process covers five seats reserved for women as well as one seat each for a technocrat and for Ulema and Mashaikh. Polling is being conducted in the AJK Assembly hall, with eligible lawmakers casting their votes through the prescribed parliamentary process. A total of 38 assembly members are eligible to participate in the voting.
Competition for the five women's seats involves four candidates from the PML-N and two from the Pakistan Peoples Party. On the technocrat seat, PML-N candidate Barrister Iftikhar Gilani is contesting against the PPP's Sahibzada Zulfiqar. The Ulema and Mashaikh contest pits PML-N's Pir Mazhar Saeed against PPP candidate Hafiz Tariq Mahmood.
The reserved-seat elections represent an important stage in completing the composition of the AJK Legislative Assembly. The house comprises directly elected lawmakers alongside members chosen for reserved categories, with Monday's exercise designed to fill the remaining positions before the assembly proceeds to elect its presiding officers. The process follows the recently concluded general elections in the territory, which were held in phases.
The PML-N emerged as the largest party in the recent AJK elections, securing 25 seats, while the PPP won 11. The balance established through the reserved seats will further define representation in the legislature as parties prepare for the next phase of government formation. Elections in some constituencies of Poonch and Sudhnotti have yet to be completed, but the reserved-seat process is proceeding according to the announced parliamentary schedule.
Once the reserved-seat voting is completed, the assembly is scheduled to meet at 2pm under Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar. The newly elected reserved-seat members will first take their oaths. Lawmakers will then proceed to elections for the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker, with voting for those positions to be conducted through secret ballot.
The day's proceedings are politically significant because completion of the reserved seats and election of the assembly's leadership will allow the new legislature to move toward regular parliamentary business and the next stages of government formation. Attention will remain on the final reserved-seat results, the distribution of votes between the PML-N and PPP candidates and the subsequent contests for Speaker and Deputy Speaker as AJK's post-election political structure takes shape.