AJK election body admits voter list errors ahead of 2026 polls

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Election Commission on Thursday said the preliminary electoral rolls prepared for the 2026 Legislative Assembly elections still carried numerous mistakes, despite its recent assertion that about 90 per cent of discrepancies had already been addressed.

In a press release, the commission said it had received complaints from political parties as well as members of the public about missing votes and the transfer of votes from one district or locality to another.

According to the commission, April 1, 2026 was set as the qualifying date for voter registration, while the revision of electoral rolls began on April 18. It said registration officers had been assigned the task of deleting deceased voters from the 2022 electoral rolls and adding eligible voters, after which appeals were to be heard by revising authorities.

However, the commission said scrutiny of the printed preliminary lists showed many errors, leading it to take suo motu notice of the issue.

Committee formed to examine discrepancies

The press release said a meeting of Revenue Department officials was called, and after considering the suggestions made there, a high-level committee headed by the deputy commissioner of Bagh was constituted. The committee has been tasked with determining how the discrepancies occurred and evaluating the extent of the errors.

The commission further said Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, along with commission member Syed Nazeerul Hassan Gillani and secretary Muhammad Shakil Khan, met the chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in Islamabad. It said the exchange of information during that meeting confirmed that the complaints were genuine.

The Election Commission said revising authorities had been directed under the Election Act 2020 to correct omissions and inaccurate entries concerning eligible voters.

Earlier claim and fresh assurance

Only four days earlier, the commission had said around 90pc of discrepancies in the electoral rolls had been rectified and that the remaining issues would be resolved within days. It had also said the election schedule would be announced by mid-May.

On Thursday, the commission repeated its commitment to

free and transparent elections.

saying such elections required transparent voter lists.

It also announced that before the final publication of the rolls, draft electoral rolls in soft form would be sent to all registration officers so they could ensure the entries matched the data originally submitted by them and that no eligible voter was left out inadvertently.

The commission urged voters to contact their respective registration officers to verify their particulars in the electoral rolls.

The latest acknowledgement comes as preparations continue for the 2026 AJK elections, with the accuracy of voter lists remaining a central issue in the electoral process.