The Pakistan Muslim League (N) has picked up an early lead in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, it has been revealed by unofficial and preliminary counting, as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) trails in the second position.
Polling was conducted in 13 poll stations in 13 parties of Mirpur Division that includes Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber district on Monday. Polling was officially ended at 5.00pm, with polling stations staying open for a further hour to allow voters who had been waiting in queue to vote. Counting of votes went on through the night.
The unofficial results from 12 completed constituencies have shown PML-N victory in eight seats and PPP in four. The other result is pending.
PML-N candidates emerged victorious from the polls in LA-1 Mirpur-1, LA-4 Mirpur-4, LA-5 Bhimber-1, LA-7 Bhimber-3, LA-9 Kotli-2, LA-11 Kotli-4, LA-12 Kotli-5 and LA-13 Kotli-6.
PPP candidates got elected in LA-2 Mirpur-2, LA-3 Mirpur-3, LA-8 Kotli-1 and LA-10 Kotli-3.
Muhammad Afser Shahid, a candidate of PPP, lost against PML-N’s Azhar Sadiq in the election of LA-1 Mirpur-1. PPP’s Qasim Majeed won LA-2 Mirpur-2 whereas Chaudhry Yasir Sultan of PPP got elected in LA-3 Mirpur-3.
PML-N’s Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed had won LA-4 Mirpur-4 while Waqar Ahmed Noor had kept LA-5 Bhimber-1 after a close contest against PPP’s Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf.
PML-N’s Chaudhry Tariq Farooq defeated independent candidate Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq in Bhimber’s LA-7 constituency. PPP’s Zafar Iqbal Malik won LA-8 Kotli-1.
PML-N got successful candidates in LA-9, LA-11, LA-12 and LA-13, respectively, with Umair Naeem, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Riyasat Khan and Raja Ayaz Ahmed Khan respectively. PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin defeated AAP’s Mohd Arshad in the contest for LA-10 Kotli-3.
The official results are likely to be released by the Election Commission following the formal consolidation process. All statistics announced are for the time being considered provisional and unofficial.
| Constituency | Winner | Votes | Runner-up | Votes | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA-1 Mirpur-1 | Azhar Sadiq (PML-N) | 15,427 | Muhammad Afser Shahid (PPP) | 9,832 | 5,595 |
| LA-2 Mirpur-2 | Qasim Majeed (PPP) | 12,904 | Azeem Bakhsh Chaudhry (PML-N) | 8,182 | 4,722 |
| LA-3 Mirpur-3 | Chaudhry Yasir Sultan (PPP) | 11,676 | Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed (PML-N) | 9,832 | 1,844 |
| LA-4 Mirpur-4 | Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed (PML-N) | 20,172 | Chaudhry Sohaib Arshad (PPP) | 13,865 | 6,307 |
| LA-5 Bhimber-1 | Waqar Ahmed Noor (PML-N) | 30,259 | Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf (PPP) | 29,574 | 685 |
| LA-7 Bhimber-3 | Chaudhry Tariq Farooq (PML-N) | 35,490 | Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq (IND) | 25,100 | 10,390 |
| LA-8 Kotli-1 | Zafar Iqbal Malik (PPP) | 19,535 | Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khan (PML-N) | 11,966 | 7,569 |
| LA-9 Kotli-2 | Umair Naeem (PML-N) | 31,080 | Javed Iqbal Budhanvi (PPP) | 28,509 | 2,571 |
| LA-10 Kotli-3 | Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin (PPP) | 12,431 | Fateh Mahmood-ul-Hassan (PML-N) | 9,245 | 3,186 |
| LA-11 Kotli-4 | Muhammad Asif (PML-N) | 26,190 | Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq (PPP) | 21,751 | 4,439 |
| LA-12 Kotli-5 | Muhammad Riyasat Khan (PML-N) | 35,168 | Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin (PPP) | 30,320 | 4,848 |
| LA-13 Kotli-6 | Raja Ayaz Ahmed Khan (PML-N) | 21,856 | Nisar Ansar Abdali (IPP) | 15,859 | 5,997 |
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