Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has announced a public holiday in the Mirpur division on July 27 to observe the first phase of Legislative Assembly elections in the division. The government says this was done at the behest of the Election Commission to create an enabling environment for voters to cast their votes.
According to an official statement, the Services and General Administration Department has issued an official notification in this regard. The notification made it clear that the public holiday will be observed in the districts of the Mirpur division only, where the first phase of polling for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections will be conducted.
The three-phased polling for the Legislative Assembly elections is taken into consideration for administrative convenience, effective polling security and transparency of the electoral process, Chief Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal said at a press conference. The Pakistan Army and other law enforcement agencies will also be deployed to ensure law and order during the polling, he added.
As per the Election Calendar, the voting will take place in the first phase in Mirpur Division on July 27, and in the second phase, Muzaffarabad Division and 12 seats of refugee votes will be polled on August 2. The third and last stage of the voting is now underway in the Poonch division, where people are voting on August 10.
The Election Commission has called on political parties, candidates and voters to abide by the code of conduct in elections and work together with relevant institutions in the process of elections being conducted peacefully, orderly and transparently. The purpose of the staged voting is to complete the voting arrangements smoothly in each area and set up a safe voting environment, authorities say.
