AJK polls: Vote counting begins after polling ends at 23 polling stations

MUZAFFARABAD (Dunya News) - Polling has ended and vote counting has begun at 23 polling stations in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s LA-15 and LA-16 constituencies, while PPP candidate Faisal Mumtaz Rathore has been declared successful from LA-17.

Repolling at nine polling stations in LA-15 and 14 in LA-16 of Bagh district began at 8am and continued until 5pm. The polling process was completed peacefully amid tight security arrangements.

A total of 5,000 voters were registered in LA-15 and 7,004 in LA-16. In LA-15, PPP candidate Sardar Zia Qamar was leading PML-N’s Mushtaq Minhas by 1,722 votes.

In LA-16, PML-N candidate Mir Akbar Khan was ahead of Sardar Qamar Zaman by 3,225 votes.

Polling in both constituencies had been postponed on August 10 after polling staff failed to reach the stations amid tensions.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission issued notifications declaring the successful candidates from LA-14 and LA-17 of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

Sajid Iqbal of Jammu and Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu was declared successful from LA-14 Bagh West, while a notification was issued confirming PPP’s Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as the winner from LA-17 Haveli.

The third phase was originally planned for all 11 constituencies of Poonch Division. However, the Election Commission restricted polling to Bagh and Haveli districts because of security concerns.

In the earlier polling, the commission declared the result of LA-14 (Bagh-I), also known as Dhirkot, where Jammu Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party candidate Sajid Iqbal Abbasi won by a wide margin with 40,522 votes.

The LA-17 (Haveli) constituency, where AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore contested, has also remained disputed. The result was challenged by PML-N candidate Engr Mohsin Aziz, who objected to the declaration of Mr Rathore as the winner.

The AJK chief election commissioner reserved his decision on the petition after hearing arguments from both sides on Thursday.