Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the dominant party in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, with nine out of 13 constituencies across Mirpur Division, according to preliminary results released by the Election Commission.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) managed to win the remaining four seats, setting the stage for the next phases of the electoral process scheduled for August.
Constituency-Wise Results
- LA-1 (Mirpur-I): PML-N’s Azhar Sadiq won with 15,427 votes, defeating PPP’s Muhammad Afzal Shahid, who secured 9,832 votes.
- LA-2 (Mirpur-II): PPP’s Qasim Majeed emerged victorious with 13,378 votes.
- LA-3 (Mirpur-III): PPP’s Yasir Sultan defeated the PML-N candidate with 12,590 votes against 11,081 votes.
- LA-4 (Mirpur-IV): PML-N’s Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed won with 22,376 votes, while PPP’s Sohaib Arshad secured 15,851 votes.
- LA-5 (Bhimber-I/Barnala): PML-N’s Waqar Ahmed Noor narrowly defeated PPP’s Chaudhry Parvaiz Ashraf by securing 30,259 votes against 29,574 votes.
- LA-6 (Bhimber-II/Samahni): PML-N’s Chaudhry Razzaq secured victory, according to unofficial results.
- LA-7 (Bhimber-III): PML-N’s Tariq Farooq won decisively with 37,613 votes, defeating former AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, who received 25,534 votes.
- LA-8 (Kotli-I): PPP’s Zafar Iqbal won with 19,535 votes.
- LA-9 (Kotli-II/Nakyal): PML-N’s Umair Naeem claimed victory with over 30,000 votes, defeating PPP’s Javed Budhanvi, who secured 28,309 votes, despite polling-day violence.
- LA-10 (Kotli-III): PPP AJK President Chaudhry Yasin won with 12,358 votes.
- LA-11 (Kotli-IV/Sehnsa): PML-N’s Raja Asif emerged victorious.
- LA-12 (Kotli-V/Charhoi): PML-N’s Raja Riasat Khan secured the seat.
- LA-13 (Kotli-VI/Khuiratta): PML-N’s Raja Ayyaz Ahmad won with 12,008 votes.
With victories across Dadyal, Khari Sharif, Barnala, Samahni, Bhimber, Nakyal, Sehnsa, Charhoi, and Khuiratta, PML-N established a commanding lead in Mirpur Division. Meanwhile, PPP retained Mirpur city, Chakswari, Kotli-I, and Kotli-III.
The remaining phases of the AJK elections will be held on August 2 in Muzaffarabad Division and August 10 in Poonch Division and the 12 refugee constituencies.
Yesterday, senior journalist Talat Hussain said the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, held across 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division, recorded a strong voter turnout despite a closely contested political landscape.
According to Hussain, AJK has more than 3.8 million registered voters, while over 1.4 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots in the constituencies where polling was held during the first phase.
While talking on a TV program, he noted that the overall voter turnout stood at around 50%, describing it as a significant level of public participation. In several constituencies, turnout reached between 52% and 53%, reflecting robust electoral engagement.
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