MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Around 122 candidates are set to contest from the five constituencies of Muzaffarabad district in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly election 2026.
According to the final list of candidates issued by the Returning Officers, 25 candidates will contest from LA-27 Muzaffarabad-1 (Kotla), 24 candidates from LA-28 Muzaffarabad-2 (Lachrat), 34 candidates from LA-29 Muzaffarabad-3 (City Muzaffarabad), 15 candidates from LA-30 Muzaffarabad-4 (Hattian/Dabta), and 24 candidates from LA-33 Muzaffarabad-5 (Khawra).
The Election Commission has also allotted election symbols to all candidates, with the electoral process continuing according to the announced schedule.
Political activity has intensified across the district as candidates from various political parties have accelerated their campaigns through public meetings, corner gatherings, and door-to-door outreach, while voter interest in the upcoming elections continues to grow.
Among the prominent contestants are Noreen Arif (Lion), Sardar Muhammad Javed Ayub (Arrow) and Syed Abdul Samad (Scales) in LA-27; Chaudhry Shahzad Mahmood (Lion) and Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi (Arrow) in LA-28; Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani (Lion) and Sardar Mukhtar Ahmad Khan (Arrow) in LA-29; Dr. Mustafa Bashir Abbasi (Lion) and Mubashir Munir Awan (Arrow) in LA-30; and Chaudhry Latif Akbar (Arrow), Saqib Majeed Raja (Lion) and Raja Aftab Ahmed Khan (Scales) in LA-33 (Khawra).
According to the final list of candidates, a total of 846 candidates will contest for the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections from 45 constituencies, the Election Commission said.
The commission has also allotted election symbols to all the candidates, including those sponsored by 26 registered political parties and independent contestants.
Among the major political parties, the arrow was allotted to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the tiger to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the eagle to the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), the balance to Jamaat-i-Islami, the horse to the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, and the sword to the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party.
