MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured victory in nine constituencies in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, according to unofficial and provisional results.
Polling was held on Monday across all 13 constituencies in Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber districts. Voting officially ended at 5pm, with an additional hour allowed for voters already present at polling stations before counting began.
According to the unofficial results, the PML-N won nine seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has secured four.
According to the unofficial and provisional results, the PML-N won LA-1 Mirpur-1, LA-4 Mirpur-4, LA-5 Bhimber-1, LA-6 Bhimber-2, LA-7 Bhimber-3, LA-9 Kotli-2, LA-11 Kotli-4, LA-12 Kotli-5 and LA-13 Kotli-6.
The PPP won LA-2 Mirpur-2, LA-3 Mirpur-3, LA-8 Kotli-1 and LA-10 Kotli-3.
In LA-1 Mirpur-1, PML-N candidate Azhar Sadiq won with 15,427 votes, defeating PPP’s Muhammad Afser Shahid, who secured 9,832 votes.
In LA-2 Mirpur-2, PPP’s Qasim Majeed was declared successful with 12,904 votes, while PML-N’s Azeem Bakhsh Chaudhry finished second with 8,182 votes.
PPP candidate Chaudhry Yasir Sultan won LA-3 Mirpur-3 with 11,676 votes, ahead of PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed, who received 9,832 votes.
In LA-4 Mirpur-4, PML-N’s Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed secured victory with 20,172 votes, while PPP’s Chaudhry Sohaib Arshad obtained 13,865 votes.
PML-N candidate Waqar Ahmed Noor won LA-5 Bhimber-1 with 30,259 votes, defeating PPP’s Chaudhry Pervaiz Ashraf, who received 29,574 votes, by nearly 700 votes.
According to the unofficial and provisional results from all 195 polling stations in LA-6 Bhimber-2, PML-N candidate Chaudhry Muhammad Razaq won the seat with 32,732 votes, while Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Ali Shan Chaudhry finished second with 26,718 votes.
In LA-7 Bhimber-3, PML-N’s Chaudhry Tariq Farooq secured 35,490 votes to defeat independent candidate Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, who polled 25,100 votes.
PPP’s Zafar Iqbal Malik won LA-8 Kotli-1 with 19,535 votes, while PML-N’s Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khan came second with 11,966 votes.
In LA-9 Kotli-2, PML-N’s Umair Naeem was declared successful after securing 31,080 votes, ahead of PPP’s Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, who received 28,509 votes.
According to the unofficial and provisional results from all 169 polling stations in LA-10 Kotli-3, PPP candidate Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin won the seat with 12,431 votes, while PML-N candidate Fateh Mehmood-ul-Hassan finished second with 9,245 votes.
PML-N candidate Muhammad Asif won LA-11 Kotli-4 with 26,190 votes, defeating PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, who secured 21,751 votes.
In LA-12 Kotli-5, PML-N’s Muhammad Riasat Khan secured 35,168 votes to defeat PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, who received 30,320 votes.
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PML-N’s Raja Ayaz Ahmed Khan won LA-13 Kotli-6 with 21,856 votes, while Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Nisar Ansar Abdali finished second with 15,859 votes.
Rana Sanaullah, adviser to the prime minister on political affairs, said that the PML-N had won nine of the 13 seats, while the PPP secured four seats. He congratulated all the successful candidates on their victories.
He said the entire administration across Mirpur Division had worked hard to make the necessary arrangements for the elections.
Referring to security incidents, Sanaullah said a dispute between members of the same family led to a firing incident at one location, while another untoward incident occurred in Nakyal, where one person was killed.
He added that six people had been arrested in connection with the murder case.
Sanaullah said that no other untoward incidents were reported apart from the one in Nakyal. He alleged that a candidate in LA-6 personally went to a polling station and removed ballot boxes.
He maintained that, overall, the elections were free and fair. He also said the administration had registered a case against the candidate involved in the LA-6 incident and had arrested him.
