Polling concludes at 23 polling stations in 2 constituencies of AJK's Bagh district

Polling concluded at 23 stations in Bagh district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) after beginning at 8am on Saturday. The AJK Election Commission had stated that polling was ongoing without any reports of violence, but turnout was negligible in both constituencies. During the third phase of voting on Monday, PPP’s Sardar Ziaul Qamar received 16,637 votes in LA-15 (Bagh Central), PML-N’s Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas got 15,015 votes, and Jamaat-i-Islami’s retired Brig Dr Muhammad Khan received 12,259 votes.

However, the commission withheld the results in both constituencies as polling could not be held at nine stations in LA-15 and 14 stations in LA-16 (Eastern Bagh), which have a combined 7,238 registered voters. PML-N’s Sardar Mir Akbar led PPP’s Sardar Qamaruz Zaman by 3,225 votes in the remaining polling stations. All five candidates in both constituencies accused their opponents of massive rigging.

AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was notified as the returned candidate from LA-17, but the announcement was made late on Friday and given to the media on Saturday. LA-17 (Haveli) was the most contentious constituency during the third phase, with Rathore's win called into question after the returning officer announced him the winner without waiting for the Election Commission to take his complaint. The Election Commission will announce the verdict on the petitions at 5pm on Saturday.