Different political parties have started wooing Members of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly for Kashmir Council elections which are scheduled to be held on May 15. The outgoing AJK Assembly is mandated to elect four members for the Kashmir Council out of a total of six members. The four members of the Kashmir Council completed their five-year term on April 20, 2016.
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission will release final list of the winning candidates on May 13. At the moment, a total of 15 candidates from different parties have been vying for the coveted four seats in the council. The current ruling party of the AJK, Pakistan Peoples Party, has nominated seven candidates, Pakistan Muslim League-N five candidates, Muslim Conference two candidates while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has nominated one candidate for the council.
According to the party positions in 49-member AJK Legislative Assembly, the PPP should get three of its candidates elected for the Kashmir Council, but observers and critics said that it will hardly be able to get its one member elected due to differences within the party.
Chaudhry Hameed, former member of Kashmir Council and leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, told Business Recorder on Friday that his party is lobbying to get its one member elected for the council. "The PPP is in shambles here and trying to keep its own members in the AJK Legislative Assembly in tact to get its nominees elected for the Kashmir Council," he said.
Hameed said that almost all members of the PPP in the AJK Assembly are either in touch with the PTI or PML-N to get their tickets for the general elections. "I am sure the PPP will be wiped out from the elections as nobody wants to contest the polls from its platform," he said. He said the PML-N, PPP and Muslim Conference have also been trying to bribe the legislative assembly members and offering some of them tickets for the upcoming general elections to get their nominees elected for the council.
Under the Act 1974 of the AJK Constitution, the Kashmir Council was formed to serve as a bridge between Muzaffarabad and Islamabad. The Prime Minister of Pakistan heads it as chairman, while Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs is its minister in charge. The Kashmir Council also has the right to appoint judges to the AJK High Court, AJK Supreme Court and the Chief Election Commissioner.
On the other hand, the AJK Legislative Assembly consists of 49 members out of which 41 members are elected through direct elections while the remaining eight members are elected later by the Assembly. Out of eight reserved seats, five seats are for ladies, one for technocrats, one for overseas Kashmiris and one for Ulmah and Mashaikh. The schedule for the general elections is yet to be announced but they are expected to be held in second or third week of July as term of the current Assembly expires on July 24. All parties contesting the upcoming general elections have formed their parliamentary boards to receive applications from prospective candidates and are expected to award the tickets before advent of Ramazan.
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