The schedule for electing the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was issued on Wednesday, with polling set to take place in the Legislative Assembly on August 27.
AJK’s general elections were held in three phases between July 27 and August 10. Of the 45 directly contested constituencies, polling took place in 38, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) securing 25 seats and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) winning 12. The lone MLA from the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party has since aligned with the PML-N.
According to the schedule, nomination papers will be submitted between 9:30am and 10:30am, followed by scrutiny from 10:30am to 10:45am, with the list of candidates displayed at 11am. Candidates will be able to withdraw their nominations between 11am and 11:30am, with the final candidate list issued at noon. The prime ministerial election itself is set for 12:30pm, with the newly elected prime minister taking oath between 4pm and 5pm the same day.
The PML-N currently commands the support of 32 assembly members, against the PPP’s 14, putting the party on track to elect its nominee, party president Shah Ghulam Qadir, as prime minister on August 27.
A day earlier, PML-N AJK Secretary General Chaudhry Tariq Farooq was elected speaker of the Legislative Assembly with 32 votes, while Ahmed Raza Qadri was elected deputy speaker with the same tally. The PPP’s candidate for speaker, Qasim Majid, received 13 votes, as did its deputy speaker nominee, Amir Abdul Ghaffar Lone, with one PPP vote declared invalid.
On August 24, forty-six newly elected members of the AJK Legislative Assembly took their oath, formally marking the start of the new parliamentary term following the 2026 general elections. Outgoing speaker Latif Akbar administered the oath during the assembly’s inaugural session, a ceremony that underscored the shifting political balance in the 53-member house, with the PML-N emerging as its dominant force.
