The Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, declared on Tuesday that the upcoming elections in the region will be conducted in three separate phases. The polling will commence in Mirpur Division on July 27, followed by Muzaffarabad Division on August 2, and conclude in Poonch Division on August 10. This announcement revises the earlier plan for a single-day election across all constituencies.
Initially, the AJK election commission had scheduled the general elections for July 27, 2026, with polling hours set from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. across the entire region. In total, 1,265 candidates have submitted nomination papers for 45 constituencies, which include 12 refugee seats. Of these, 1,047 candidates are contesting 33 constituencies within Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while 218 candidates are vying for the 12 Kashmiri refugee constituencies.
The scrutiny of nomination papers for all 45 constituencies has been completed, resulting in the rejection of 41 papers on legal grounds. For the elections, 6,983 polling stations and 10,913 polling booths will be established to serve 3,804,368 registered voters. Among these voters, 3,365,685 will cast their ballots at 5,926 polling stations located within AJK. The voter population is nearly evenly split, with males constituting 52 percent and females 48 percent.
A total of 22 political parties are participating in the elections. Notably, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), founded by Imran Khan, has boycotted the polls in solidarity with ongoing regional protests. PTI had planned to contest as independents after failing to secure an election symbol but ultimately decided against participating, criticizing the elections as a power-driven process that disregards the Kashmiri people’s voice.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have formed an alliance. Under this agreement, PPP has ceded two seats—LA-14 (Bagh-I) and LA-23 (Poonch and Sudhanoti-VI)—to JUI-F, while PPP candidates are contesting the remaining 43 seats. Other parties fielding candidates include Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 44 candidates, Independent Party of Pakistan (IPP) with 38, Muslim Conference with 36, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) with 36, Pakistan National Party (PNP) with 14, and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Party (JKPP) contesting nine seats.
Political parties have intensified their campaigns through corner meetings and rallies across the region. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived in AJK on July 14, 2026, to spearhead his party’s campaign efforts. Additionally, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif is scheduled to address rallies in Muzaffarabad on July 21 and in Mirpur on July 24, further energizing the electoral contest.
