Unofficial AJK Election Results Show Neck-and-Neck Battle Between PML-N and PPP

MIRPUR: (Staff Reporter) – Unofficial and provisional results from the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections indicate a closely fought contest between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) across Mirpur Division.

Polling concluded in 13 constituencies covering Mirpur, Kotli, and Bhimber on Monday. After voting ended at 5:00pm, polling was extended by one hour for voters already present at polling stations. Following the completion of voting, unofficial and non-final results began to emerge from across the constituencies.

In LA-2 Mirpur-2, PPP candidate Qasim Majeed secured victory with 12,904 votes, defeating PML-N’s Azeem Bakhsh Chaudhry, who received 8,182 votes, according to unofficial final results from all 149 polling stations.

In LA-1 Mirpur-1, PML-N’s Azhar Sadiq was leading with 12,303 votes after results from 107 of 139 polling stations, while PPP’s Muhammad Afsar Shahid had 7,278 votes.

In LA-3 Mirpur-3, PPP’s Chaudhry Yasir Sultan held a narrow lead with 9,361 votes, ahead of PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed on 9,100 votes, based on results from 131 of 161 polling stations.

Partial results from LA-4 Mirpur-4 showed PML-N’s Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed leading with 2,021 votes, followed by PPP’s Chaudhry Sohaib Arshad with 1,288 votes after counting at 16 of 162 polling stations.

In LA-5 Bhimber-1, PML-N candidate Waqar Ahmed Noor was ahead with 21,573 votes, while PPP’s Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf had 18,406 votes, based on results from 115 of 176 polling stations.

PML-N also maintained a strong lead in LA-6 Bhimber-2, where Chaudhry Muhammad Razaq had 21,210 votes, while Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party candidate Ali Shan Chaudhry followed with 11,354 votes after results from 100 of 195 polling stations.

In LA-7 Bhimber-3, PML-N’s Chaudhry Tariq Farooq was leading with 9,178 votes, ahead of independent candidate Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq on 5,064 votes, according to results from 51 of 237 polling stations.

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PPP candidate Zafar Iqbal Malik held a slim advantage in LA-8 Kotli-1, securing 1,221 votes against PML-N’s Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khan with 1,174 votes, based on results from 10 of 155 polling stations.

In LA-9 Kotli-2, PML-N’s Umair Naeem was comfortably ahead with 23,568 votes, while PPP’s Javed Iqbal Badhanvi had 15,382 votes after counting at 119 of 178 polling stations.

PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin was leading in LA-10 Kotli-3 with 6,999 votes, followed by PML-N’s Fateh Mahmood-ul-Hasan on 3,560 votes, according to results from 36 of 169 polling stations.

Early results from LA-11 Kotli-4 showed PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq leading with 254 votes, while Muhammad Asif was second with 148 votes after counting at two of 206 polling stations.

In LA-12 Kotli-5, PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin was ahead with 2,613 votes, while PML-N’s Muhammad Riazat Khan had 1,255 votes, based on results from 40 of 207 polling stations.

Meanwhile, in LA-13 Kotli-6, PML-N’s Raja Ayaz Ahmed Khan was leading with 13,063 votes, followed by Muhammad Walid Inqilabi with 8,995 votes, according to unofficial results from 110 of 193 polling stations.

These results remain unofficial and provisional, with the Election Commission expected to announce the official results after the completion of the counting process.