The initial phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections concluded peacefully on July 27, marked by a strong voter turnout, Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal announced following the release of results from three significant constituencies in Mirpur.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured victories in two of the three declared seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) claimed one. In LA-1 Mirpur-I, PML-N’s Azhar Sadiq won with 15,427 votes, defeating PPP’s Afser Shahid, who garnered 9,832 votes. Similarly, in LA-4 Mirpur-IV, PML-N’s Chaudhry Rukhsar emerged victorious with 22,376 votes, ahead of PPP’s Sohaib, who received 15,851 votes.
Meanwhile, the result for LA-3 Mirpur-III was announced by the AJK Election Commission Secretary, where PPP’s Chaudhry Yasir Sultan won with 12,590 votes, followed by PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed with 11,081 votes.
Justice (retd) Mughal emphasized that the first phase was completed in an overall peaceful environment, highlighting the active participation of all political parties and the enthusiastic exercise of democratic rights by voters. He commended the efforts of election staff, security forces, and relevant institutions in ensuring the smooth conduct of the polls.
He further noted that individuals accused of disrupting polling in Samahni had been detained, praising law enforcement agencies for maintaining order throughout the election process.
Unofficial results indicate PML-N has secured seven seats, while PPP has won three. The counting process extended beyond the scheduled 5 pm closing time, with a one-hour extension granted by the Chief Election Commissioner due to high voter turnout and requests from political parties. Election officials stated that results compilation would proceed in phases, with final official results to be announced following the prescribed legal procedures.
This first phase covered 13 constituencies in the Mirpur Division, with a registered voter base of 1,400,437, including 724,811 men and 675,626 women. A total of 2,316 polling stations were established, of which 1,241 were classified as highly sensitive and 724 as sensitive.
Constituency-wise unofficial results include: In LA-2 Mirpur-II, PPP’s Qasim Majeed won with 31,378 votes, followed by PML-N’s Azeem Bakhsh Chaudhry with 8,499 votes and independent Chaudhry Zafar Anwar with 4,669 votes. In LA-5 Bhimber-I, preliminary results from 104 of 176 polling stations showed PML-N’s Waqar Ahmed Noor leading with 19,592 votes against PPP’s Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf’s 16,335 votes.
In LA-6 Bhimber-II, early results from 24 of 195 polling stations placed PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Razzaq ahead with 3,814 votes, while Ali Shan Chaudhry of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) trailed with 3,351 votes. Complete unofficial results from LA-7 Bhimber-III showed PML-N’s Chaudhry Tariq Farooq winning with 35,490 votes, followed by independent Chaudhry Anwarul Haq with 25,100 votes.
In LA-8 Kotli-I, PPP’s Zafar Iqbal Malik secured victory with 19,535 votes, defeating PML-N’s Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khan, who received 11,966 votes. In LA-9 Nakyal, full unofficial results from all 306 polling stations showed PML-N’s Umair Naeem winning with 31,080 votes, narrowly ahead of PPP’s Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, who got 28,509 votes.
Preliminary results from 36 of 169 polling stations in LA-10 Kotli-III indicated PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin leading with 6,999 votes, followed by PML-N’s Fateh Mahmood Hassan with 3,560 votes. In LA-11 Kotli-IV, PML-N’s Muhammad Asif won with 26,190 votes, beating PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, who secured 21,751 votes. In LA-12 Kotli-V, PML-N’s Muhammad Riasat Khan was declared victorious with 35,168 votes against PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin’s 30,320 votes.
In LA-13 Kotli-VI, PML-N’s Raja Ayaz Ahmed Khan won with 21,856 votes, ahead of IPP candidate Nisar Ansar Abdali, who received 15,859 votes.
During polling in Nakyal, a violent incident occurred in which one person was killed and two others injured in a shooting. This event drew a strong reaction from PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, highlighting concerns over election security.
