India to hold assembly elections in disputed Kashmir

India on Friday announced assembly elections will be held in Kashmir and the three-phased ballot will get underway on September 18.

"After a long gap, elections are due and will be held in Jammu and Kashmir," chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar told reporters in New Delhi.

It will be the first time elections have been held in the disputed territory since Prime Minister Narendra Modi stripped the Muslim-majority region of its semi-autonomy and made it a federally controlled area in 2019.

In the wake of those changes from the Modi government, Kashmir has been run by a New Delhi-appointed administrator and overseen by bureaucrats with no mandate.

Troops to oversee voting process

The elections are to be held through October 1 in a staggered process that will see tens of thousands of soldiers deployed to oversee proceedings.

A total of 8.7 million people will be eligible to vote, according to the electoral commission and ballots will be counted on October 4, with the results likely to be announced the same day.

Little power over legislation

The territorial assembly will have few legislative powers, however, with only nominal control over education and culture.

Local politicians have demanded the earliest restoration of statehood so that full legislative powers could be returned to the local assembly.

jsi/rm (AP, AFP, Reuters)