PML-N challenges Rathore’s victory in AJK constituency

PML-N candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz has challenged the election result of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s LA-17 Haveli-Kahuta

MUZAFFARABAD: PML-N candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz has challenged the election result of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s LA-17 Haveli-Kahuta constituency, alleging irregularities in the compilation of results and seeking a recount of votes.

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission has accepted the petition for hearing and summoned the relevant parties in Muzaffarabad.

Mohsin has alleged that the official result was changed through manipulation of election documents. He claimed that results received from polling stations showed him winning the constituency by a significant margin.

According to his claim, the results compiled by presiding officers showed him leading by around 8,600 votes. He alleged that there was a substantial discrepancy between those results and the figures later submitted to the returning officer.

The PML-N candidate said he had approached the returning officer and requested a recount but his request was rejected.

He has also called on PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to support a recount. Mohsin said he would leave politics if a transparent recount showed that he had not won the constituency by a substantial margin.

The disputed constituency was won by PPP candidate and AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, according to the officially issued result.

Form-27 showed Rathore securing 33,872 votes, while Mohsin Aziz received 32,354 votes. Independent candidate Tariq Saeed stood third with 12,538 votes.

Mohsin has disputed these figures and alleged that the result was altered after the polling process.

He also alleged that armed individuals intimidated voters at some polling stations during election day. He claimed tensions increased after the rival camp realised that it could face defeat.

The PML-N candidate has vowed to pursue the matter through the electoral process and said he would not accept what he described as an attempt to deprive him of his mandate.

The election commission’s decision to hear the petition has formally brought the disputed result before the relevant electoral forum. The proceedings will determine whether a recount or any further action is warranted.

Political tensions in the constituency have also continued following the election.

Several vehicles parked along a roadside in Hoter village were reportedly vandalised. Local residents said the windows of the vehicles were smashed during an alleged attack.

The vehicles were reportedly parked outside the residence of senior PPP leader Zahid Hashmi, who is also president of the International Kashmir Peace Forum Europe.

According to local sources, individuals associated with the PML-N and an independent candidate were allegedly involved in the incident. The allegations have not been independently verified.

Some of the affected vehicles reportedly belonged to people who had travelled from Saudi Arabia to participate in the election.

The affected individuals alleged that, besides damaging their vehicles, the attackers took passports and cash from some of them.