PML-N secures strong lead in AJK polls, wins 9 of 13 seats in Mirpur as unofficial results come in

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the dominant party in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, winning nine of the 13 seats contested in the entire Mirpur Division, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results, while the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won the remaining four seats in the division, comprising Mirpur, Kotli and Chaksawari districts. Express News reported on Tuesday.

Voting was held on Monday in 13 constituencies across the three districts from 8 am to 6 pm, after the Election Commission extended voting by one hour from the scheduled closing time of 5 pm.

The elections will be held in three phases as per a revised schedule announced by AJK Chief Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal on July 21. The first phase covered all 13 constituencies of Mirpur division, while polling in Muzaffarabad division and 12 refugee constituencies would be held on August 2, followed by Poonch (Rawalakot) division on August 10.

According to unofficial results, PML-N’s Azhar Sadiq won LA-1 Mirpur-I with 15,427 votes, defeating PPP’s Muhammad Afsar Shahid, who got 9,832 votes. PPP’s Qasim Majeed won LA-2 Chaksawari with 12,904 votes while PML-N’s Azeem Bakhsh Chaudhry received 8,182 votes.

In LA-3 Mirpur-III, PPP’s Chaudhry Yasir Sultan emerged victorious with 11,676 votes, ahead of PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed, who secured 9,832 votes. PML-N’s Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed won LA-4 Mirpur-IV with 20,172 votes, defeating PPP’s Chaudhry Sohaib Arshad, who received 13,865 votes.

In LA-5 Bhimber-I, PML-N’s Waqar Ahmad Noor polled 30,259 votes to narrowly defeat PPP’s Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf, who polled 29,574 votes. PML-N also won LA-7 Bhimber-III, where Chaudhry Tariq Farooq received 35,490 votes, while independent candidate Chaudhry Anwarul Haq finished second with 25,100 votes.

In LA-8 Kotli-I, PPP’s Zafar Iqbal Malik won with 19,535 votes, defeating PML-N’s Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khan, who got 11,966 votes. PML-N’s Umair Naeem claimed LA-9 Kotli-II with 31,080 votes, ahead of PPP’s Javed Iqbal Budhanvi who received 28,509 votes.

The PPP retained LA-10 Kotli-III, where Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin won with 12,431 votes, while PML-N’s Fatah Mehmood-ul-Hassan got 9,245 votes. In LA-11 Kotli-IV, PML-N’s Muhammad Asif won with 26,190 votes, defeating PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, who got 21,751 votes.

Read: PML-N advances in first phase of AJK elections

PML-N also secured LA-12 Kotli-V where Muhammad Riasat Khan received 35,168 votes while PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin got 30,320 votes. In LA-13 Kotli-VI, PML-N’s Raja Ayaz Ahmad Khan won with 21,856 votes, ahead of Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s Nisar Ansar Abdali, who got 15,859 votes.

The results from LA-6 Bhimber-II were still incomplete at the time of writing. With results from 100 out of 195 polling stations counted, PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Razaq was leading with 21,210 votes, followed by Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s Ali Shan Chaudhry with 11,354 votes.

However, voter turnout was lower than in previous AJK elections, with fewer people voting across the division.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the results reflected public confidence in the PML-N leadership and said the party’s performance demonstrated support for Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision for the development of Azad Kashmir.

Reacting to the result, PML-N leader and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said on

He said Monday’s vote had formally endorsed that decision, adding that Muzaffarabad had also delivered its verdict on July 21 and expressing confidence that voters in the remaining constituencies would back the PML-N in the next phase of the elections on August 2.

Elections held amid accusations of manipulation

Despite extensive security measures, election day was marred by accusations of rigging and sporadic violence, as coalition partners at the center (the PML-N and the PPP) traded accusations of election interference throughout the day.

The PML-N first alleged fraud ahead of the elections in Kotli’s LA-10 constituency after party leaders claimed that polling staff and polling materials had been found at a private residence instead of the designated polling station. The Electoral Commission later confirmed that it had arrested and suspended two presidents over the incident, replacing them with new officials and initiating legal proceedings under electoral laws.

Read more: One dead as violence and manipulation allegations cloud first phase of AJK elections

Meanwhile, the PPP repeatedly accused the federal government and the PML-N of using state machinery to influence the polls, alleging that armed supporters attempted to disrupt voting at several polling stations and demanding the immediate intervention of the Election Commission. The party also complained that voting at a Kotli polling station remained suspended for almost two hours, depriving voters of their right to cast their vote.

Tensions rose further in LA-9 Kotli-II (Nikyal) where PPP worker Mukhtar Younus was killed during the elections. The PPP alleged that it was shot during incidents involving armed supporters of a PML-N candidate, while PML-N leaders disputed the party’s account of the incident. Local authorities confirmed that one person had died and two others, including the victim’s father, were injured.

As the accusations intensified, senior leaders from both parties held opposing press conferences. The PPP accused the federal government of interfering in the elections through development advertisements and misuse of official resources, while the PML-N alleged that the PPP itself was attempting to manipulate the vote, claiming that ballot papers had been recovered from the residence of a rival candidate.

Throughout the day, the Election Commission maintained that strict action would be taken against any violation of the electoral code of conduct, saying that irregularities and negligence would not be tolerated. Despite the controversies, voting concluded after the extension of one hour before the vote counting began.