Muzaffarabad, July 28, 2026: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the dominant party in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, securing nine of the 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division, according to preliminary results released by the AJK Election Commission on Tuesday.
The first phase of the three-stage electoral process was held on Monday across Mirpur Division amid tight security. Polling was marred by isolated incidents of violence, clashes between political workers, and allegations of rigging, with both the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) accusing each other of electoral malpractice.
According to preliminary results based on Form-26 and Form-27 issued by the Election Commission, the PML-N won nine constituencies, while the PPP secured four seats.
Form-27 contains the cumulative results, including votes cast on polling day and advance ballots cast by election staff, while Form-26 reflects only the votes cast on the main polling day.
Following an intense election campaign, the PML-N claimed victories in Mirpur district’s Dadyal (LA-1) and Khari Sharif (LA-4), Bhimber district’s Barnala (LA-5), Samahni (LA-6) and Bhimber (LA-7), as well as Kotli district’s Nakyal (LA-9), Sehnsa (LA-11), Charhoi (LA-12) and Khuiratta (LA-13).
The PPP retained its influence in Mirpur city by winning LA-2 and LA-3, while also securing two constituencies in Kotli.
In LA-1 (Mirpur-I), PML-N candidate Azhar Sadiq defeated Muhammad Afzal Shahid by polling 15,427 votes against 9,832.
The PPP captured LA-2 (Mirpur-II), where Qasim Majeed secured 13,378 votes.
A closely contested race in LA-3 (Mirpur-III) ended with PPP’s Yasir Sultan defeating his PML-N rival by securing 12,590 votes against 11,081.
In LA-4 (Mirpur-IV), PML-N’s Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed won with 22,376 votes, while PPP candidate Sohaib Arshad finished second with 15,851 votes.
The LA-5 (Bhimber-I) contest was one of the closest of the day, with PML-N’s Waqar Ahmed Noor edging PPP’s Chaudhry Parvaiz Ashraf by securing 30,259 votes against 29,574.
PML-N candidate Chaudhry Abdul Razzaq won the LA-6 (Samahni) seat, while Tariq Farooq secured a comfortable victory in LA-7 (Bhimber-III) with 37,613 votes, defeating former AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, who received 25,534 votes.
The PPP claimed LA-8 (Kotli-I) through Zafar Iqbal, while party president Chaudhry Yasin won LA-10 (Kotli-III) with 12,358 votes.
In LA-9 (Kotli-II), where polling was disrupted by violence that claimed one life, PML-N’s Umair Naeem defeated PPP candidate Javed Budhanvi after securing more than 30,000 votes against Budhanvi’s 28,309.
PML-N candidates Raja Asif, Raja Riasat Khan, and Raja Ayyaz Ahmad were declared successful in LA-11 (Sehnsa), LA-12 (Charhoi), and LA-13 (Khuiratta), respectively. Raja Ayyaz Ahmad won LA-13 with 12,008 votes.
Polling in the first phase concluded after authorities extended voting by one hour. More than 1.4 million registered voters were eligible to cast ballots across Mirpur Division under extensive security arrangements.
The remaining phases of the AJK elections are scheduled for August 2 and August 10, covering constituencies in Muzaffarabad Division, the refugee constituencies, and Poonch Division.
Commenting on the electoral process, AJK Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal described the polls as among the most challenging in the region’s history, saying isolated incidents had been exaggerated for political purposes despite the overall completion of the voting process.
