ISLAMABAD: Polling began on Monday in the first phase of the 2026 Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections, with more than 1.4 million registered voters casting ballots across 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division under stringent security arrangements.
Polling began at 8:00 am local time and will continue until 5:00 pm. Authorities have deployed thousands of police personnel, members of law enforcement agencies and Pakistan Army troops to ensure a peaceful and transparent electoral process.
Additional security measures have been put in place at sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations.
Voter Turnout and Polling Arrangements
A total of 1,400,437 registered voters are eligible to vote in Mirpur Division, including 724,811 men and 675,626 women.
Election authorities have established 2,316 polling stations across the division. Of these, 1,241 have been designated as highly sensitive, 724 as sensitive and 351 as normal, with security deployed according to the risk assessment.
A total of 288 candidates are contesting the 13 seats in the first phase of the elections.
The largest number of candidates is contesting LA-3 Mirpur City, where 34 candidates are in the race. LA-10 Kotli has 29 candidates, LA-7 Bhimber has 28, LA-13 Khoi Ratta has 27, while LA-2 Chakswari and LA-11 Sehnsa each have 24 candidates.
Other constituencies include LA-8 Raj Mahal with 21 candidates, LA-1 Dadyal with 20, LA-4 Khari Sharif with 19, LA-5 Barnala with 18, LA-6 Samahni with 17, LA-12 Charhoi with 15 and LA-9 Fatehpur Thakiala with 12 candidates.
Key Electoral Contests
Several constituencies are expected to witness closely fought contests involving candidates from major political parties.
In LA-1 Dadyal, Azhar Sadiq, who won the 2021 election on a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ticket, is now contesting on a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Chaudhry Afser Shahid.
In LA-2 Chakswari, PPP’s Chaudhry Qasim Majeed faces PML-N candidate Azeem Bakhsh Chaudhry. Qasim Majeed won the constituency in 2021 with 10,377 votes.
LA-3 Mirpur City remains one of the most closely watched constituencies. PPP candidate Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, son of the late Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, is contesting against PML-N’s Chaudhry Mohammad Saeed. Barrister Sultan Mahmood had won the seat in 2021 on a PTI ticket with 18,703 votes.
In LA-4 Khari Sharif, PML-N’s Chaudhry Rukhsar is contesting against PPP’s Sohaib Arshad. The constituency was won in 2021 by Sohaib Arshad’s father, Chaudhry Mohammad Arshad, then contesting on a PTI ticket.
In Bhimber, PML-N’s retired Colonel Waqar Noor is seeking to retain his influence in LA-5 against PPP’s Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf, while LA-6 Samahni is expected to witness a close contest between Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Ali Shan Soni and PML-N’s Muhammad Razzaq Chaudhry.
Former Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq is contesting LA-7 Bhimber against senior PML-N leader Chaudhry Tariq Farooq.
Kotli district also features several closely contested races, including LA-8 Raj Mahal, LA-9 Fatehpur Thakiala, LA-10 Kotli, LA-11 Sehnsa, LA-12 Charhoi and LA-13 Khoi Ratta, where candidates from PML-N, PPP and IPP are competing for victory.
Multi-Layer Security Plan
To oversee polling and maintain security, the entire Mirpur Division has been divided into 13 zones and 205 sectors.
Under the security plan, 18,560 personnel have been deployed, including 5,536 in Mirpur district, 4,504 in Bhimber and 8,520 in Kotli.
According to the Chief Election Commissioner, a three-tier security system has been implemented. The first layer comprises the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Police, the second includes Pakistan Rangers (Punjab), Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and the Federal Constabulary, while 2,100 Pakistan Army personnel have been deployed as the third layer of security.
Officials said comprehensive security arrangements are in place at all polling stations and other sensitive locations to provide voters with a safe environment and ensure the electoral process is conducted peacefully, orderly and transparently.
