Polling for the second phase of the 2026 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections began at 8:00am on Sunday, with more than 1.24 million registered voters expected to elect representatives for 21 Assembly seats.
Voting will continue until 5:00pm across Muzaffarabad Division and 12 refugee constituencies, where authorities have put extensive security arrangements in place to ensure a peaceful polling process.
More than 300 candidates are contesting the second phase. According to the Election Commission, 207 candidates are competing for nine constituencies in Muzaffarabad Division, while 137 candidates are in the race for the 12 refugee seats representing Kashmiri refugees living across Pakistan.
Election officials say the combined electorate includes 809,621 voters in Muzaffarabad Division and 438,834 voters in the refugee constituencies.
The contest is largely dominated by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), with direct contests taking place in most constituencies from LA-25 to LA-45. The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and several independent candidates are also participating and may influence closely contested seats.
Among the prominent candidates is former AJK Prime Minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan, who is contesting from LA-32 Chikar/Muzaffarabad-VI on a PML-N ticket.
The second phase follows the first round of polling in Mirpur Division, where PML-N secured nine of the 13 seats, while PPP won the remaining four.
The earlier phase also sparked political controversy after the PPP alleged electoral irregularities and demanded re-polling in several constituencies. PML-N rejected the allegations and maintained that the election process remained transparent.
Despite being coalition partners in the federal government, PML-N and PPP entered the second phase with visible political differences after negotiations over the disputed constituencies failed to produce an agreement.
In other news read more about: Bilawal Accuses PML-N Candidate Over PPP Worker’s Killing During AJK Polls
Polling will continue until 5:00pm, after which the vote-counting process will begin under the supervision of election authorities.
