AJK orders re-polling at 23 stations in Bagh

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission has ordered re-polling at 23 polling stations

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission has ordered re-polling at 23 polling stations in two constituencies of Bagh district following disruptions during the third phase of the AJK elections.

Re-polling will take place on August 15. It will cover nine polling stations in LA-15 Bagh Central and 14 polling stations in LA-16 Bagh East.

The decision was taken after voting at several polling stations either failed to start on time or was disrupted and later cancelled.

The four constituencies of Bagh and Haveli went to the polls on August 10. Elections in other parts of Poonch Division had earlier been delayed because of law and order concerns.

In LA-15, PPP candidate Sardar Ziaul Qamar was leading according to unofficial results. He had secured 16,637 votes.

PML-N candidate Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas was in second place with 15,015 votes. Jamaat-i-Islami candidate Brigadier (retd) Dr Mohammad Khan had received 12,259 votes.

The nine polling stations scheduled for re-polling have more than 5,000 registered voters. Their votes could have a significant impact on the final result.

Former AJK prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who contested the constituency on the PTI ticket in the 2021 election, appeared to have fallen out of contention.

A close contest was also reported in LA-16 Bagh East. PML-N candidate Sardar Mir Akbar was leading with 19,515 votes.

PPP candidate Sardar Qamaruz Zaman had secured 16,290 votes. The 14 polling stations where re-polling has been ordered reportedly account for around 7,200 votes.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission announced the preliminary result for LA-14 Dhirkot. Sajid Iqbal Abbasi of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party defeated Muslim Conference president Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan.

Abbasi secured 40,522 votes, while Attique received 19,637 votes. The result marked a major setback for the Muslim Conference, which has historically been one of the region’s prominent political parties.

The result of LA-17 Haveli also became controversial. PML-N candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz demanded a recount and alleged irregularities in election documents.

Aziz claimed that Form-24 documents from different polling stations had been altered. Election officials began examining the complaint.

Ballot papers and other election material were also reportedly moved under security to Muzaffarabad for further counting and verification.

Aziz called on PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to support a recount. He claimed that results signed by presiding officers showed him leading by around 8,600 votes.

However, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan, citing the Election Commission, reported that PPP candidate and AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore had won the LA-17 seat.

The AJK elections are being held in three phases. The polls have taken place amid political tensions and law and order concerns in several parts of the region.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has so far secured 24 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party has won 10 constituencies, according to the available results.

The first two phases also witnessed allegations of electoral irregularities, clashes and political disputes. Both major parties have traded accusations over the conduct of the elections.

The third phase was originally planned across all 11 constituencies of Poonch Division. However, voting was allowed only in Bagh and Haveli because of security concerns.