BAGH, Azad Jammu and Kashmir: The AJK election will continue across four constituencies in Bagh and Haveli on August 10. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is campaigning for a two-thirds majority.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said Saturday that the party needed six more assembly members.
He spoke at a Bagh rally before campaigning ended at midnight Saturday. Sanaullah said PML-N held 24 elected seats and predicted victories in all four Monday contests.
He also forecast five wins when voting eventually takes place across the remaining constituencies of the Poonch Division. Sanaullah projected that reserved seats would lift PML-N’s strength to 30 before the remaining elections.
A two-thirds majority in the 53-member assembly requires 36 members. However, the later contests have no confirmed dates.
The AJK Election Commission revised the third-phase schedule on Friday because of law-and-order concerns. It retained three Bagh seats and one Haveli seat for August 10.
Read: PPP Demands Re-Polling at AJK Stations Above 80% Turnout
The commission postponed five Poonch seats and two Sudhnoti seats after reviewing the security situation. It said officials would announce replacement dates after considering conditions and related factors.
Chief Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal said a Rawalakot date could be announced within 7 days of the sit-ins ending.
Read: AJK Election Results: PML-N Leads Second Phase
The PML-N leads after two phases with 24 elected seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has 10.
Those results give PML-N a simple majority among the assembly’s 45 directly elected constituencies. Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam also predicted a two-thirds majority for the PML-N.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari rejected that forecast on Friday and claimed the federal PML-N government also faced risk.
