Newly elected members of AJK Legislative Assembly take oath of office

MUZAFFARABAD: Newly elected members of the AJK Legislative Assembly were administered the oath of office by outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar on Monday.

Assembly Secretary Amjed Latif Abbasi read out the notifications of the 38 members elected from the territorial and refugee constituencies in the phased elections, as well as those of the eight members elected by them on reserved seats.

Shortly after the announcement of the results, all newly elected members took the oath at the hands of the outgoing speaker, who failed to retain his seat in the elections. The members then signed the oath register in the order of their constituencies.

PML-N’s Ahmed Raza Qadri moved a motion seeking the suspension of the rules that prescribed a bar on certain times for elections to the offices of speaker, deputy speaker and leader of the house.

On a point of order, PPP’s Abdul Majid Khan noted that although the PML-N had a majority and could suspend the rules, it should avoid holding the session on the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal — Eid-i-Miladun Nabi, widely commemorated as the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) — out of respect for the sanctity of the day.

The chair, however, said there was no harm in holding the session and conducting the election process on that day.

“The transition of power should take place as early as possible, and it is good that on 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal, members will pay tributes to the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) from the floor of the house,” he said, amid desk-thumping by PML-N legislators.

PML-N wins 5, PPP wins 2 reserved seats

The PML-N bagged five while the PPP won two of the seven reserved seats that were up for grabs in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Under Article 22(1) of the AJK Constitution, the Legislative Assembly consists of 53 members, including 45 members elected directly through adult franchise and eight members chosen by directly elected representatives.

The reserved seats include five seats for women and one each for Ulema-i-Din or Mashaikh well-versed in the teachings of Islam, Jammu and Kashmir State subjects residing abroad, and technocrats and other professionals.

PML-N’s Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Arain was the only candidate to have submitted his nomination papers for the seat reserved for state subjects residing abroad. He was consequently declared elected unopposed.

After polling for the remaining seats on Monday, PML-N’s Sehrish Qamar, Maryam Idrees and Maryam Zaman, also known as Maryam Kashmiri, secured one seat each reserved for women. Seven votes were polled for each of them, as were for PPP’s Farzana Yaqoob, who claimed the fourth reserved seat for women.

There were just two more contenders — PML-N’s Riffat Abid and PPP’s Zobia Khurshid Raja — vying for the seats for women whose votes were tied at five. Eventually, Raja was declared the winner for the last seat left, with the result being decided by drawing lots.

For the seat reserved for Ulema and Mashaikh, PML-N’s Mohammad Mazhar Saeed won against his sole contender, PPP’s Hafiz Tariq Mahmood, after garnering 26 votes — almost double than Mahmood’s 12.

Similarly, PML-N’s Barrister Syed Iftikhar Gillani also bagged 26 votes to claim the seat reserved for technocrats and professionals, beating PPP’s Sahibzada Zulfiqar Ali by 14 votes.

Shortly after their election, the Election Commission notified the successful candidates.

In days preceding Monday’s polls, elections to seven of the 45 directly elected seats — five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti district — could not be held due to the law and order situation in the region. As a result, the 38 members elected so far, representing 84.4 per cent of the directly elected membership, participated in the reserved seat elections.

AJK polls

The elections in the region, originally scheduled for July 27, were divided into phases over security concerns amid unrest in the region. The first phase was held on July 27, the second on Aug 2 and the third on Aug 10.

The third phase was originally meant to cover all of Poonch Division, which comprises 11 constituencies, including three in Bagh, one in Haveli, five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti district.

However, the AJK Election Commission announced that polling would only go ahead as scheduled in Bagh and Haveli because of concerns over the law and order situation.

So far, in the direct elections to 38 constituencies, the PML-N has secured 25 seats while the PPP won 12. The lone MLA-elect of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party has also joined hands with the PML-N.

The PPP has alleged widespread rigging in the polls, with the party also ramping up its criticism of the ruling PML-N in recent days.

Last week, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that a genuine alliance with the PML-N was not possible until their grievances regarding the AJK polls were addressed as he established formal contact with the PTI and offered to cooperate with the party in Parliament.

Speaking to the media, the PPP chairman alleged that the AJK election process had been made controversial for political interests. He alleged that the federal government’s political and administrative machinery had remained active in AJK throughout the six-phase election process, raising serious questions over its transparency.

The PPP, he said, had raised its objections before the Election Commission, parliament and other constitutional forums, but the PML-N had failed to address its concerns or engage in meaningful dialogue after the polls.

Moreover, he said the commitments and political understandings reached with the PML-N before the prime minister’s election had not been honoured. The PPP had cooperated in the wider national interest, he said, but there could be no genuine alliance with the PML-N unless the party’s concerns over the AJK elections were addressed and political commitments fulfilled.

He pointed out that the government needed PPP’s votes for several important laws, constitutional amendments and difficult bills. He said legislation could not be forced through on the basis of a majority or through coercion.

The discord between the PPP and PML-N was also apparent in the National Assembly on Aug 18, when the former managed to compel the government to virtually suspend the heavy legislative agenda for the day, which included 21 bills.

On Aug 20, when the lower house of Parliament passed two bills pertaining to the military and nuclear command structure, the PPP also objected to the manner in which the legislation was presented. While the party ultimately voted in favour of the bills, Bilawal lashed out at the government for not taking ruling allies on board.