AJK elections: PML-N, PPP secure one seat each following delayed polls in Muzaffarabad constituencies

MUZAFFARABAD: The PML-N and PPP have secured one seat each in the two constituencies of Muzaffarabad division where polling was held on Tuesday after being fully or partially deferred due to landslides and adverse weather that blocked roads and prevented the timely dispatch of polling staff and election material. The contest was part of the second phase of elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), during which candidates vied for seats in Muzaffarabad division and 12 seats reserved for refugees from India-occupied Kashmir. According to official results released by the AJK Election Commission, PML-N’s Noreen Arif bagged the LA-27 (Kutla) seat with 18,919 votes, beating first runner-up, Sardar Tabarak Ali of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) by 298 votes. PPP’s Sardar Javed Ayoub was the second runner-up, with 18,037 votes. Meanwhile, PPP’s Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi bagged 28,214 votes to win the LA-28 (Lachhrat) seat, where PML-N’s Chaudhry Shahzad Mahmood secured 26,866 votes to emerge as the first runner-up. The third runner-up, Syed Yasir Hussain Naqvi of All Jammu and Kashmir Conference, managed to get just 873 votes. Along with these results, the Election Commission also notified the returned candidates for the rest of the seats that were up for grabs in the second phase of the elections. The total number of seats won by the PML-N stands at 24 while the PPP has bagged 10. The PML-N had secured nine of the 13 seats in the first phase of the elections in Mirpur division while the PPP had secured four. After Sunday’s elections in the second phase, the PML-N bagged 14 more seats, while the PPP managed to add just five more to its tally. The third and final phase of the elections will be held in AJK’s Poonch division on August 10, during which 11 seats will be up for grabs. Elections in AJK are being held in three phases over security concerns and amid protests by the now proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee. Since early June, AJK has witnessed protests by the JAAC, which has been demanding the abolition of the 12 refugee seats in the AJK legislature. The protests have also been marred by violence. Meanwhile, scuffles, violence and allegations of rigging had marred the polls, with the PML-N and PPP accusing each other of electoral malpractices.