AJK elections conclude in reduced capacity amid security lockdown and media ban
The Legislative Assembly elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir have ended with a significantly scaled-back final phase, as authorities postponed polling in seven areas due to security concerns and a boycott campaign by the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee.
Voting concluded on Monday in the third and final phase of Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s Legislative Assembly elections, though the process was severely curtailed by unrest. Polling proceeded in only four of the 11 constituencies originally scheduled for the Poonch division, with authorities postponing elections in seven other areas, including five in Poonch and two in the Sudhnoti district. Officials indicated that a new date for the postponed constituencies would be announced in the coming days.
Approximately 460,000 registered voters participated in the reduced polls, which opened at 08:00 local time and closed at 17:00. The contest featured high-profile figures, including AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), who is defending his seat in Haveli. In Bagh, former prime ministers Sardar Tanveer Ilyas of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party and Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan of the Muslim Conference are competing for the remaining seat.
The reduction in polling areas follows weeks of protests led by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a local pressure group that was banned in June under antiterrorism laws. The JAAC has called for a boycott of the elections in protest against 12 seats in the regional legislature reserved for displaced Kashmiris living elsewhere in Pakistan. Violence during these protests has resulted in more than 50 deaths, according to residents and rights groups, while the government confirmed that at least seven police and paramilitary personnel have been killed.
Access to the region has been tightly controlled, with international media banned from reporting on the events. Reporters were instructed to leave the area this month and must seek government clearance before returning. Additionally, an intermittent internet shutdown has persisted for more than 50 days in the Poonch division, the stronghold of the JAAC, further isolating the region during the electoral period.
The final phase follows two earlier rounds where the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) secured significant victories. In the Mirpur division on July 27, the PMLN won nine of 13 seats, with the PPP taking four. Polling in the Muzaffarabad division and refugee constituencies on August 2 saw the PMLN win 15 seats and the PPP six. Voter turnout in the first two phases was recorded at 46 percent and 53 percent respectively, figures that remain below the more than 60 percent turnout seen in the 2016 and 2021 elections.
