AJK LG polls: PTI takes lead by winning 33 seats

MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has clinched victory on 33 seats followed by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) grabbing 18 seats during the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Local Government (LG) polls, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results.

According to the unofficial and unconfirmed results of the AJK LG polls, PTI candidates won 33 seats while PPP secured victory on 18 seats. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) won 14 seats in the AJK LG polls, whereas, seven independent candidates were declared winners.

Muslim Conference declared victorious on one seat.

After a long wait of over three decades, the first phase of the local government elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were held on Sunday.

Strict security measures were put in place to maintain law and order during the polling in AJK.

Of the 1,323 polling stations, 418 were declared ‘sensitive’ and 257 ‘most sensitive’, where three and five police personnel were deployed, respectively. According to officials, two policemen were deployed at other polling stations.

A total of 2716 candidates including 900 independent candidates were in the contest for 595 seats in Muzaffarabad, Neelum Valley and Hattian Bala district while in second phase, polling will be conducted in four districts of Poonch Division on December 3.

According to the election commission, a total of 695,049 voters including 320,747 female voters exercised their right to vote in the first phase of elections in three districts of the Muzaffarabad division.

It is pertinent to mention that local government elections in the other two divisions of the state Poonch and Mirpur will be held on January 3 and 8 respectively.

Earlier, the regional chief election commissioner (CEC) Justice Retired Abdul Rashid Sulehria had announced to hold local government (LG) elections in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in phases.