Panchayat bypolls: This is the first major political exercise since the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.
The Election Commission on Thursday said the by-election for vacant panchayat seats in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will be held in eight phases next month.
There are close to 13,000 vacant seats in panchayats across Jammu and Kashmir.
This is the first major political exercise since the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year. The state of Jammu and Kashmir was also split into two Union territories - J&K and Ladakh.
Announcing the schedule of the polls, J&K Chief Electoral Officer Shailendra Kumar said ballot boxes will be used in the elections.
"Panchayat elections for vacant posts of every block will be held. Ballot boxes will be used," Kumar said.
"There will be 8 phases of elections. For Jammu division it is 4 phases, for Kashmir division it is 8 phases," he added.
The Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect, Kumar announced, adding that it will be implementable in all the places where elections are being held.
The first phase of elections will be held on March 5, the second phase on March 7, third phase on March 9, fourth phase on March 12, fifth phase on March 14, sixth phase on March 16, seventh phase on March 18 and eight-phase on March 20.
When asked about the panchayat polls in Ladakh, Kumar said the poll body has not received a request for the conduct of elections the UT.
"In any case, Ladakh is snow-bound and it is very cold out there. So it is not feasible to have an election at this point of time," he said.
The announcement came on the day a delegation of foreign envoys, the second batch of diplomats in as many months, are on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
The 25-member delegation arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday on a two-day visit as part of a Centre-facilitated trip to help the envoys have a first-hand assessment of the situation in the newly-carved out Union Territory.
Various governments, including the United States, have expressed concern over the security situation in the region, especially the Valley, which was put under strict restrictions after its special status was removed.
Dozens of mainstream politicians, including three former chief ministers of the erstwhile state - Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti - still remain under detention.
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