PML-N bags 14 seats in 2nd phase of AJK polls amid allegations of rigging

The PML-N has bagged 14 seats while the PPP has managed to secure just four of the total 18 seats that were up for grabs in the second phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) election on Sunday, according to unofficial results released by the Election Commission. Polling was postponed until Tuesday in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I (Kutla) and at 71 of the 174 polling stations in LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II (Lachhrat) as polling staff and election material could not reach the constituency because of landslides and bad weather that resulted in blocked roads. State broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported the unofficial results of 18 seats, citing Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal’s press talk in Muzaffarabad. During the press talk, he announced that the PML-N had won 14 seats and the PPP four.

Unofficial results

LA-34 bagged by PML-N’s Nasir Dar LA-35 bagged by PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Ismail LA-36 bagged by PML-N’s Muhammad Ahsan Raza LA-37 bagged by PNL-N’s Maryam Javed LA-38 bagged by PML-N’s Zeeshah Ali LA-39 bagged by PML-N’s Raja Muhammad Siddique Khan LA-41 bagged by PML-N’s Muhammad Amir Shah LA-42 bagged by PML-N’s Syed Shawkat Ali Shah LA-43 bagged by PML-N’s Muhammad Yasin Lone LA-44 bagged by PML-N’s Ahmad Raza Qadiri LA-25 bagged by PML-N’s Ghulam Qadir LA-30 bagged by PML-N’s Mustafa Bashir Abbasi LA-31 bagged by PML-N’s Saqib Majeed Khan LA-32 bagged by PML-N’s Raja Farooq Haider Khan LA-40 bagged by PPP’s Amir Abdul Ghaffar Khan LA-45 bagged by PPP’s Abdul Majid Khan LA-26 bagged by PPP’s Mian Abdul Waheed Khan LA-29 bagged by PPP’s Sardar Mukhtar Ahmad Khan

On Sunday, the PPP accused the PML-N — its ally in the Centre — of electoral malpractices, rigging and violence, as it had during the first phase of the elections in Mirpur division on July 27. PML-N secured nine of the 13 seats in the first phase while the PPP won the remaining four.

Polls in AJK are being held in three phases over security concerns, with the polling held on seven seats of Muzaffarabad division and 12 refugee seats, the reserved seats for refugees from India-occupied Kashmir. In the third phase, polling will be held in 11 constituencies of Poonch division. Reports of violence During the polling on Sunday, attempts were reportedly made to disrupt polling in some neighbourhoods of Muzaffarabad, but voting continued in most areas. In LA-31, Muzaffa­rabad-V (Khawra), clashes between workers of the PML-N and PPP were reported in Union Council Katkair. The PPP alleged that one of its workers, Syed Mushtaq Shah, was killed in an attack by PML-N supporters. The PML-N rejected the allegation, claiming the man suffered a cardiac arrest following a scuffle between two groups. There was no independent confirmation of either claim. PPP candidate and Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar also wrote to the AJK chief election commissioner, alleging security lapses, firing incidents, interference in polling, prevention of polling agents from entering polling stations and denial of voting rights. He also claimed there had been an attempt on his life in which Advocate Syed Mumtaz Hussain Naqvi was injured, and called for an investigation and legal action against those responsible. There was no immediate response from the Election Commission. Clashes between workers of the two major parties, some involving the use of firearms, were also reported from other areas, though no casualties were immediately reported. Low turnout outside AJK Outside AJK, Kashmiris voted for their candidates vying for refugee seats at polling stations set up in Chakwal, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Sargodha, Attock, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Mohmand, Mansehra, Quetta, Dera Ghazi Khan, Peshawar, Sanghar, and Naushahro Feroze. Polling in these areas largely remained peaceful and recorded a low turnout. In Mohmand, not a single voter turned up at a station set up for the AJK polls. In Dera Ghazi Khan, a single registered female voter cast her ballot at the Govt Elementary School in Maumori, where a polling station had been established just for her. Out of 12 refugee seats, seven seats are in Punjab, one seat is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one seat (Jammu-VI) is divided between Pun­jab, Islamabad, and Khyber Pakhtun­khwa, one seat is divided between Sindh and Balo­chistan (Valley-I), and one seat (Jammu-I) is shared among refugees living in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh. Valley-V seat is divided between Punjab and Islamabad. Since early June, AJK has witnessed protests by the now-proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has been demanding the abolition of the 12 refugee seats in the AJK legislature. The protests have also been marred by violence.