Jammu and Kashmir has begun its first local-assembly elections in a decade
The first phase of the Legislative Assembly election in India’s Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), a region bordering Pakistan that has experienced decades of violence and unrest, began on Wednesday. This is the first polling since New Delhi abolished Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which had granted a certain level of autonomy to J&K.
Approximately nine million registered voters will participate in electing members to the 90-seat legislature over three phases, concluding on October 1. The results will be announced on October 8. The Muslim-majority Kashmir region has 47 assembly seats, while the adjacent Hindu-majority Jammu region has 43 seats. A total of 219 candidates are competing in the first phase.
According to the Indian Election Commission, the overall voter turnout during Wednesday’s polling was around 58%, with approximately 2.3 million people expected to cast their votes.
As reported earlier this month by RT, the election has been highly anticipated by the local population. The decision in 2019 by the government of Narendra Modi to revoke Article 370 stripped the region of its statehood, converting it into a Union Territory, to be largely governed at federal level.
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Claimed by both India and Pakistan, Kashmir has been a contentious issue between the two nuclear-armed nations. Diplomatic relations deteriorated in 2019 when Islamabad downgraded ties with New Delhi and suspended the Indian High Commissioner. Last year, Pakistan rejected the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling that upheld the abrogation of Article 370.