Re-polling set for Aug 15 at some polling stations in two Bagh constituencies of AJK

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Election Commission has announced re-polling for some polling stations in two constituencies of Bagh district in Poonch Division. This re-polling will take place on August 15, with 9 polling stations in LA-15 (Bagh Central) and 14 polling stations in LA-16 (Bagh East) affected. The decision was made as the initial polling at these stations either failed to begin on time or was disrupted and subsequently cancelled. The re-polling will impact a total of 5,032 voters in LA-15 and about 7,200 voters in LA-16.

The two constituencies that held elections on Monday saw the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) likely to win one seat each. Meanwhile, a lesser-known party won the third seat, with the outcome of the fourth constituency yet to be determined. In LA-15, PPP candidate Sardar Ziaul Qamar is leading with 16,637 votes, while PML-N candidate Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas has 15,015 votes.

In LA-16, PML-N candidate Sardar Mir Akbar leads with 19,515 votes, followed by PPP candidate Sardar Qamaruz Zaman with 16,290 votes.

The re-polling in LA-15 and LA-16 comes as tensions between protesters and authorities continue to escalate over the past two months. The PML-N has secured 24 seats so far, while the PPP has won 10 constituencies. The ongoing third phase of the AJK elections, which was originally set to cover all of Poonch Division, will now only proceed in Bagh and Haveli due to law and order concerns.