AJK Bagh Election Results: Voting Underway at 23 Stations

Azad Jammu and Kashmir – (Staff Reporter/Web Desk) – AJK Bagh election results are once again in focus as voting resumed on Saturday at 23 polling stations across two constituencies in Bagh district, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The fresh round of voting comes after polling was called off at these stations on August 10. That day, staff failed to reach several centers on time, and rising tensions made it unsafe to continue.

Raja Shakeel Ahmed Khan, Secretary of the AJK Election Commission, confirmed at the time that law and order concerns forced officials to halt the process at the affected sites.

This was part of the third phase of AJK’s elections, which originally covered four constituencies in Bagh and Haveli on August 10. Voting in seven other constituencies, spread across Poonch and Sudhnoti, was also delayed for similar reasons.

Early results from that first voting day gave a clear picture of the race. In LA-15 Bagh-2, unofficial counts from 203 of 213 polling stations showed PPP’s Zia Qamar ahead with 16,696 votes. His closest rival, PML-N’s Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas, trailed with 15,099 votes.

Meanwhile, in LA-16 Bagh-3, PML-N’s Sardar Mir Akbar Khan held a lead over PPP’s Sardar Qamar Zaman Khan.

Now, voters are heading back to the polls to finish what was interrupted. In LA-15 Bagh-2, nine polling stations are open, giving 5,032 registered voters a chance to cast their ballots.

LA-16 Bagh-3 has more stations running, with 14 centers open for 7,238 eligible voters. Polling started at 8am and will run until 5pm.

These two seats are part of a bigger political picture taking shape across AJK. In the first phase, PML-N won nine out of 13 seats in the Mirpur division, while PPP picked up four.

The second phase covered nine seats in Muzaffarabad along with 12 seats set aside for refugees. PML-N again performed strongly, winning 15 seats, while PPP claimed six.

Combined across both completed phases, PML-N has built a clear lead with 24 seats. PPP follows with 10 seats so far.

The election season hasn’t been free of controversy, though. PPP has repeatedly raised concerns about rigging and violence throughout the campaign.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari didn’t hold back in a video message released on August 3. He called the polls unfair, using strong words like “bullet elections” and “bloody elections” to describe what he says is happening on the ground.

PML-N has firmly denied these claims. Rana Sanaullah, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, pushed back directly, asking PPP to bring solid proof to the election commission instead of just making accusations.

As voting wraps up today in Bagh, all eyes will be on whether these final results shift the overall balance between the two major parties, or simply confirm the trend seen so far.