ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s first-phase gains on July 28. The PML-N AJK election lead stood at nine of 13 Mirpur Division seats, preliminary results showed.
Preliminary Forms-27 issued by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Election Commission gave the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) the remaining four seats.
Polling took place on July 27 across Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber districts. Election officials extended voting by one hour before closing polling stations at 6pm.
Shehbaz congratulated PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, the party leadership and its election team. He credited Nawaz’s leadership for the campaign’s performance, Radio Pakistan reported.
The prime minister described political parties’ participation as evidence of a successful democratic process. He also urged voters to participate enthusiastically in the remaining phases.
PML-N candidate Tariq Farooq won LA-7 Bhimber-III with 38,340 votes. Former AJK prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq finished second with 25,900 votes, according to Election Commission figures.
Read: AJK Election Results: PML-N Wins 8 of 12 Declared Seats
However, PML-N and PPP accused each other of electoral irregularities during polling. The Election Commission arrested and suspended two presiding officers in Kotli after they allegedly took polling material to a private residence.
Mirpur Commissioner Raja Tahir Mumtaz also confirmed that one man died and two others suffered injuries during violence in LA-9 Kotli-II. PPP blamed a PML-N candidate’s supporters, while PML-N disputed the party’s account.
Muzaffarabad Division’s nine constituencies and all 12 refugee constituencies will vote on August 2. Poonch Division’s 11 constituencies will complete polling on August 10.
