Polling is underway at 23 polling stations in Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as voters return to the ballot box following disputes and allegations of irregularities during the region’s phased elections.
Voting began at 8am on Saturday and is scheduled to continue until 5pm. Additional security personnel have been deployed at polling stations to ensure voters can participate in the electoral process without fear or disruption.
The fresh polling is being conducted in LA-15 (Bagh Central) and LA-16 (Eastern Bagh). Voting could not take place at several stations in the constituencies during the third phase of the AJK elections. Following the disruption, the AJK Election Commission withheld the results and ordered polling at the remaining stations.
In LA-15, PPP candidate Sardar Ziaul Qamar had secured 16,637 votes from stations where voting had already taken place. PML-N candidate Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas was in second place with 15,015 votes, while Jamaat-i-Islami candidate retired Brig Dr Muhammad Khan had received 12,259 votes.
The situation in LA-16 is also closely contested. Fourteen polling stations with 7,238 registered voters are involved in the withheld result. Before the fresh polling, PML-N candidate Sardar Mir Akbar was leading with 19,515 votes, holding a lead of 3,225 votes over PPP candidate Sardar Qamaruz Zaman.
The election contests have remained tense, with candidates from different parties accusing their rivals of alleged rigging and irregularities. Election authorities have maintained that sufficient security arrangements are in place to protect voters and polling staff.
AJK Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal said adequate police and law-enforcement personnel had been deployed to provide voters with a peaceful and secure environment.
The fresh polling forms part of a wider AJK election process that has been conducted in phases amid security and law-and-order concerns. The third phase was initially planned across 11 constituencies of Poonch Division but was restricted to Bagh and Haveli districts because of security concerns.
The Election Commission has already announced the result of LA-14 (Bagh-I), where Jammu Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party candidate Sajid Iqbal Abbasi won by a significant margin.
Meanwhile, the result in neighbouring LA-17 (Haveli) has also faced a legal challenge after AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was declared the winner. His PML-N opponent, Engineer Mohsin Aziz, challenged the result before the Election Commission.
With voting now underway at the remaining 23 stations, the outcome is being closely watched. Turnout, security conditions and the final results could determine whether the disputed contests in Bagh are finally settled.
