Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to hold local body polls after 31 years

Muzaffarabad [PoK], July 26 (ANI): Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will hold local body elections in the month of September on a party basis after 31 years, local media reported citing the region's poll body.
The announcement was made by Chief Election Commissioner Justice Retd Abdul Rasheed Sulehria on Tuesday along with the poll body members in a media conference.
"The apex court of AJ&K has given us a deadline to conduct polls before October 12, 2022 however, we are ready to conduct them in the month of September this year," said CEC Justice Retd Sulehria as quoted by The Express Tribune.
According to a senior member of the poll body Farooq Niaz, all arrangements have been completed to ensure local bodies' elections.
Another member Farhat Ali Mir said that the first phase for the arrangements was delimitation which has been completed on time while the second phase was the completion of voter lists, and the task has already been achieved before the deadline.
He added that more than PKR900 million would be spent on the elections and in this connection, the EC has received PKR300 million so far, The Express Tribune reported.
More than 5,192 polling stations have been established while in general elections there were only 5,123 polling stations, the Pakistani media outlet reported citing the polling official.
Asked about the changes in these elections, Farhat Ali Mir said that there is no change in the local government election procedure and they will be conducted on the same pattern as the 1991 local body polls.
In May, Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas said that his government would hold the local body (LB) polls in accordance with the direction of the top court.
Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry had asked the election commission to redouble its efforts to hold local body elections in the state in line with the orders of the top court. (ANI)