49-member AJK Parliament elevated to 53-member house
Altaf Hamid Rao
MIRPUR (AJK) (Parliament Times): Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Jammu & Kashmir on Friday announced to add four new seats in 49-member Azad Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly, one each from four AJK districts including Muzaffarabad, Neelam valley, Sudhanoti/Poonch and Kotli district in view of the proportion of the population of these districts, an official notification said.
With the arrival of four new seats, the AJK Parliament has elevated to 53-seat house, official sources told this Correspondent quoting the notification, issued on Friday.
The Chief Election Commissioner of AJK took the step being the Delimitation Commission using his powers under 13th amendment reached in interim act 1974, the interim constitution of Azad Jammu & Kashmir creating four new constituencies one each in above four districts including the State’s capital district.
The CEC also issued official gazette of the delimitation of the constituencies for holding AJK Legislative Assembly elections to 45 constituencies of Azad Jammu Kashmir due to be held in year 2021. The CEC also summoned objections and proposals over the delimitation of the electoral constituencies by August 30, this year.
The AJK Chief Election Commissioner appointed members of the Election Commission to hear the objections over the delimitation of the constituencies by using his power under Section 6 of ‘AJK Halqabandi Ordinance-1970’ by the above stipulated last date.
Decisions over the objections would be made under majority opinion. If any person have any objection or proposal over the interim delimitation, may send their objections, proposals with solid grounds for any change in the delimitation to Secretary AJK Election Commission Block No. 6, Ground Floor, Civil Secretariate Chatter Domel Muzaffarabad by the stipulated last date of August 30, 2019.The Delimitation Commission will hear the objections / proposals, to be reached by the above last date, in his office chamber located at House No. 1, opposite AJK Legislative Assembly according to the following schedule:-
1) Muzaffarabad division (comprising Muzaffarabad, Jhelum valley and Neelam district) on September 02, 2019.
2) Poonch division (comprising Poonch Sudhanoti, Bagh, Kahota and Haveili districts) on Septermber 04, 2019.
3) Mirpur division (comprising Mirpur Kotli and Bhimbher districts) on September 13, 2019 and
4) Pakistan-based refugees from Kashmir valley, Jammu and others on September 16, 2019, the notification added.
