Ladakh will vote in municipal elections for the first time since 2018, with polling for the Leh and Kargil municipal committees set for November 21, Chief Electoral Officer Rahul Sharma announced on Friday, ANI reported. The announcement ends an administrative vacuum that has persisted since the previous elected bodies' terms expired in 2023.
According to the schedule in the CEO's press note, the election notification will be issued on October 29 and the last date for filing nominations is November 5. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on November 6, candidates can withdraw until November 9 — the day symbols are allotted and the final list of contesting candidates is published — and the entire election process is to be completed by November 30. The final electoral rolls for Leh (21 wards) and Kargil (17 wards) were published on October 22, with October 1 as the qualifying date.
The last municipal and panchayat elections in Ladakh were held in September 2018, when the region was part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The elections will be conducted under the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act, 2000, and the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Committee (Election) Rules, 2003, and the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect and will remain in force until the process is complete. The municipal announcement comes days after the State Election Commission proposed separate panchayat elections across Ladakh in November.
Source: The Legitimate — Leh, Kargil municipal polls on November 21 (October 23, 2026)
Sharma urged the public to participate enthusiastically and exercise their democratic rights. He said the final electoral roll was published on October 22, and anyone who believes their name has been recorded incorrectly or omitted may file an appeal with the Electoral Registration Officer.