PoK President Election 2026: Who Are The Candidates And Why Was The Post Vacant Since January?

Lawmakers in Pakistan-administered Kashmir will vote on Thursday, September 24, to elect a new president, nearly eight months after the office fell vacant following the death of Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry.

The contest is between PML-N's Dr Najeeb Naqi and PPP's Chaudhry Latif Akbar. The vote is taking place after a new Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly was formed following elections that were disrupted by months of protests and violence. Voting in seven constituencies was postponed because of the security situation and remains pending.

The presidential election is being conducted by the Assembly, rather than through a direct public vote. Under the AJK Interim Constitution, the president is elected by a majority of the Assembly's total membership. The Assembly has 53 seats, meaning a candidate needs 27 votes.

Who are the candidates?

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has nominated Dr Najeeb Naqi Khan, a 62-year-old former minister and former member of the AJK Legislative Assembly from Sudhnoti district. He has held several ministerial portfolios, according to Al Jazeera.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has nominated Chaudhry Latif Akbar, 78, a senior parliamentarian and former speaker of the AJK Legislative Assembly.

Akbar is also directly linked to the presidential vacancy. After Sultan Mahmood died in January, Akbar, who was then Assembly speaker, performed the functions of president. After the new Assembly was elected, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq became speaker on August 25 and subsequently took over the functions of the president. Dawn reported the change when the presidential election schedule was announced.

Both candidates filed their nomination papers on September 19 and their nominations were declared valid after scrutiny. The Election Commission scheduled polling at the AJK Assembly Secretariat from 10am to 1pm on September 24, with counting and the announcement of the result to follow.

Under Article 5 of the AJK Interim Constitution, the president is elected by a majority of the Assembly's total membership. If no candidate secures that majority in the first poll, the Constitution provides for a second poll between the two candidates who receive the highest numbers of votes.

Why was the president's office vacant for nearly eight months?

The vacancy began on January 31, 2026, when Sultan Mahmood died in an Islamabad hospital after a prolonged illness. He had been elected AJK president in 2021 and died aged 71.

The Constitution provides a specific procedure for such a vacancy.

Under Article 9 of the AJK Interim Constitution, when the office of president falls vacant, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is required to perform the president's functions and cause an election to be held within 30 days. There is an exception where the Assembly is dissolved, in which case the election is to be held within 30 days of the general election to the Assembly.

In this case, the Assembly was not dissolved when Sultan Mahmood died. Yet no presidential election was held within the 30-day period.

The delay became the subject of a legal challenge. On February 28, lawyers Raja Zulqurnain Abid and Syed Fakher Kazmi filed a constitutional petition before the AJK High Court, seeking directions for the presidential election to be held within the period stipulated by the Constitution. Dawn reported that the Speaker, Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commission were among those named as respondents.

The election nevertheless remained pending through the first half of the year.

The election was eventually scheduled after the new Assembly was constituted, with the Election Commission fixing September 24 as polling day. Nominations were held on September 19 and withdrawals were allowed until September 23.

The office therefore remained vacant until September, nearly eight months after Mahmood's death, despite the constitutional 30-day requirement.

What caused the recent unrest in PoK?

The presidential election comes after months of protests in AJK, driven by economic grievances, governance concerns and a dispute over political representation.

The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a coalition of traders, civil society groups, lawyers and activists, had initially campaigned around issues such as subsidised flour, electricity prices and government privileges. Its demands later expanded to include the abolition of 12 Assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living elsewhere in Pakistan.

JAAC argued that the arrangement gave people living outside AJK an influence over its politics and demanded that the seats be abolished. The government maintained that the seats were constitutionally protected.

The dispute intensified after the AJK Supreme Court ruled in June that the 12 seats could not be abolished through executive action or public pressure and could only be removed through a constitutional amendment. The ruling was followed by further clashes between protesters and security forces. AP reported that the court ruling came amid growing tensions and that the government had already banned JAAC.

The violence continued into July. Reuters reported on July 14, citing officials, that nine people had been killed in clashes in Poonch, including protesters and security personnel. The violence came a day before a planned JAAC march.

The Indian Express had reported in July that at least 37 people had been killed according to JAAC, while Pakistani authorities disputed claims about the civilian death toll and alleged that militants were present among protesters. Casualty figures have varied between authorities, activists and rights groups.

The unrest also disrupted communications, transport and normal economic activity in parts of AJK. Al Jazeera reported that banks were shut for periods and that mobile and internet services were disrupted during the protests.

Why are seven Assembly seats still vacant?

The unrest directly affected the 2026 Assembly election.

The original election schedule was changed and polling was conducted in phases. Voting took place in Mirpur on July 27, Muzaffarabad on August 2 and parts of Poonch division on August 10.

But seven constituencies did not vote.

According to Al Jazeera, five of the seven constituencies are in Poonch and two are in Sudhnoti. Polling in those seats was postponed because of security concerns after weeks of protests. Officials said a fresh date would be announced.

That left the new Assembly with 46 occupied seats rather than all 53 positions filled. The eight reserved seats were filled even though seven directly elected constituencies remained pending.

The seven vacancies do not prevent the Assembly from electing a president because the Constitution expressly bases the presidential election on the total membership of the Assembly. It also states that the Assembly can function despite vacancies in its membership.

For Thursday's vote, therefore, the immediate contest is between Najeeb Naqi of the PML-N and Latif Akbar of the PPP. The election fills the presidential office left vacant after Sultan Mahmood's death in January, while polling in the seven postponed Assembly constituencies remains pending.