Islamabad: The Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is now in polling mode. Streets are lined with flags and banners of political parties all set for the Legislative Assembly Elections to be held on Sunday.
Election campaigning came to an end on Friday midnight. Various political parties as well as independent candidates held public meetings and also went door-to-door to woo the voters, Geo News reported.
There are 421 candidates in the fray. Polling for 41 of the 49 Assembly seats will be held on Sunday. Eight seats are reserved for women and technocrats.
According to experts, unlike previous polls, these elections do not seem to be a duel between two mainstream parties - the Muslim Conference and the Pakistan People’s Party.
Observers said the newly launched Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) in the region, which mainly consists of Muslim Conference dissidents, has converted the electoral fray into a three-way fight.
According to the final list issued by the state election commission, the total number of voters is 3,017,816.
A total of 5,559 polling stations have been set up with 6,448 booths. As many as 4,351 presiding officers have been appointed to supervise the polling.
IANS
First Published: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 13:10