- Polling held in four constituencies of Poonch division.
- Polls in Poonch, Sudhnoti districts postponed.
- PML-N candidate seeks recounting in LA-17 Bagh-4.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is leading in two of the four constituencies in the Poonch division in the third phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections, while the PML-N is ahead in one and an independent candidate has won the fourth, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results.
Polling for the third phase of the AJK elections was held in four constituencies across Bagh and Haveli districts of Poonch division.
In LA-15 Bagh-2, unofficial results from 203 of 213 polling stations show PPP’s Zia Qamar with 16696 votes, while PML-N’s Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas is behind with 15099 votes.
In LA-16 Eastern Bagh, PML-N candidate Sardar Mir Akbar Khan was leading against PPP candidate Sardar Qamar Zaman Khan. The constituency was the only one among the four in which the PMLN appeared poised to secure a victory.
In the closely contested LA-17 Haveli-Kahuta constituency, incumbent Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was leading against PML-N candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz.
A major upset was witnessed in LA-14 Western Bagh, where independent candidate Sardar Sajid Iqbal Abbasi defeated former prime minister and Muslim Conference president Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan in his home constituency.
According to unofficial results, Awami Dast-o-Bazu’s Sajid Iqbal was leading with 40,702 votes, followed by Muslim Conference’s Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan with 19,542 votes.
Elections for five seats in Poonch district and two seats in Sudhnoti district have been postponed.
PML-N candidate seeks recounting in LA-17 Bagh-4
Meanwhile, a sit-in by PML-N workers is continuing outside the Returning Officer’s (RO) office over a demand for recounting of votes in LA-17 Bagh-4 constituency.
PML-N candidate Mohsin Aziz has submitted a request for recounting in LA-17 Bagh-4, which was rejected by the RO, according to the information available.
Aziz said the protest and sit-in would continue until the votes are recounted.
PPP alleges rigging
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Monday rejected the results of the recent Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, alleging widespread rigging, electoral irregularities, disruption of polling and serious law-and-order violations.
Addressing a press conference, Senators Palwasha Khan, Shahlah Raza and Sharmila Faruqui described the elections as “the darkest blot” on Kashmir’s electoral history, alleging that portraying the polls as peaceful would amount to a “blatant lie”, The News reported on Tuesday.
The PPP leaders said the complaints and alleged irregularities reported during the elections could not be ignored and called on the Election Commission to conduct an impartial review of all complaints to protect the voters’ mandate and ensure transparency in the electoral process.
As the voting process began, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman raised concerns over delayed polling and alleged restrictions on PPP’s polling agents at several stations.
Rehman expressed concern over delays in the start of polling at various stations in LA-16 and LA-15, urging that the lost time be compensated for and voters be given a full opportunity to exercise their right to vote.
She also alleged that PPP polling agents were prevented from entering polling stations 119 and 120, saying the move raised questions about transparency.
Allegations ‘not as intense as before’
Addressing a presser in Islamabad, Rana Sanaullah, adviser to the prime minister and a senior leader of the PML-N, urged protest groups to end their sit-in as polling continues in AJK.
The senior PML-N leader said that those taking up arms or becoming tools of the enemy would have to face the law.
However, the government would review the legitimate demands of protesters, he added.
He alleged that the PPP was masking its defeat through a rigging narrative, although he noted that the party’s allegations were “not as intense as before”.
The AJK chief election commissioner had previously said that once the issue of the sit-ins is resolved, they would be in a position to announce the polling date for Rawalakot within the next few days.
Previous election outcome
In the first phase of the AJK elections, the PML-N won nine of 13 seats in the Mirpur division, while the PPP secured four.
In the second phase, voters cast ballots for nine seats in the Muzaffarabad division and 12 seats reserved for refugees. The PML-N won 15 seats, while the PPP secured six.
The PML-N has emerged as the dominant party in the region, securing 24 seats, while the PPP has won 10 seats in the first two phases of the elections.
Sanaullah said on August 8 that the PML-N needed just six more seats to secure a two-thirds majority in AJK.
A day before that, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the PML-N was mistaken in believing it would form the government in AJK, saying: “In fact, their [PML-N’s] government in Islamabad is also at risk.”
