Announcement for Municipal Elections 2018 in J&K has already been made. The Urban local bodies elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in four phases starting from October 8. Here are some things to know about these elections:

For the first time, electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used in the polls while migrant voters will be able to vote through postal ballot.

The notification for the first phase will be issued on September 18. The last date for filing nominations for the phase will be September 25 while the date of withdrawal of nominations will be September 28. The date of poll for the first phase will be October 8.

The notification for the second phase will be issued on September 20 and the last date for making nominations for the phase will be September 27. The date of withdrawal of nominations will be October 1 and the date of poll for the second phase will be October 10.

For the third phase, the notifications will be issued on September 22 and the last date for filling nominations for the phase will be September 29. The date of withdrawal of nominations will be October 3 and the date of poll for the third phase will be October 13.

For the fourth, the last phase, the notification will be issued on September 24 and candidates can submit their nominations till October 1. The candidature can be withdrawn by October 5 and the voting will take place on October 16.

The poll hours for all the phases would be from 7am to 2pm and the date of counting for all the phases will be October 20

J&K state has 79 municipal bodies, including the two corporations for the twin cities of Srinagar and Jammu. There are 1,145 wards in these 79 bodies. The total number of voters for the civil poll is 16.97 lakh across the state.

Among the 1,145 wards, 90 have been reserved for Scheduled Castes and 38 for Scheduled Tribes, which includes 31 and 13 wards for SC and ST women respectively.

In addition, 322 wards have been reserved for women belonging to open category.

For the first time, the electronic voting machines will be used during the poll. The last municipal elections were conducted in January-February 2005 and ballot boxes were used at that time. The last elected municipal bodies had completed their five-year term in March 2010.

The elections have already been long delayed owing to security and political situation in the state. The last municipal polls were held in 2005 and the panchayat elections in 2011.