Counting of votes in polling stations across Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as well as various cities of Pakistan, for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections has begun.
Polling time ended at 5pm with the gates of polling stations closed to new voters, however those already queued inside were allowed to cast their ballot.
AJK has a total of 32,50,117 registered voters, including 17,8,800 male and 14,68,317 female.
There are 33 electoral constituencies in the ten districts of AJK. While 12 constituencies are reserved for Pakistan-based Jammu & Kashmir refugees. Polling booths in all the provinces have been set up for the refugees.
Over 2.8 million voters have been registered in 33 AJK constituencies and 0.4 million in 12 Jammu Kashmir refugees based in various parts of Pakistan.
A total of 691 candidates, including 381 belonging to a total of 32 registered political parties and a total of 310 independent candidates, are in the run to win the election for 45 seats.
The elections are being held under the supervision of AJK Judiciary, Pakistan Army and Rangers with the coordination of the local civil law enforcement institutions.
7:43pm — Unofficial results from LA-39 Jammu VI
Unofficial results, preliminary results show PTI’s Nazia Niaz is in the lead with 268 votes.
PML-N’s Raja Muhammad Siddique is in second place with 191 votes.
7:40pm — Unofficial results from LA-5 Bhimber I
Unofficial results, preliminary results show PML-N’s Waqar Ahmad Noor in the lead with 3,966 votes.
Muhammad Shafiq Jaral of All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference is in second place with 1,602 votes.
7:30pm — Preliminary results of 30 polling stations in LA 40, Sindh and Balochistan
PPP’s Aamir Abdul Ghaffar – 1,518 votes
PTI’s Saleem Butt – 548 votes
PML-N’s Tahir Ali – 347 votes
7:26pm — Unofficial results from four polling stations of LA-41, Kashmir Valley II
Unofficial results, preliminary results show PTI’s Ghulam Mohiuddin has obtained 205 votes, whereas PML-N’s Ikram Butt has received 83 votes so far.
7:24pm — Unofficial result from LA-34 Jammu I, Sheikhupura
Unofficial results, preliminary results show Riaz Ahmed of PTI has obtained 231 votes, whereas PML-N’s Zahid Iqbal has received 26 votes so far.
7:15pm — Unofficial result from LA-44 Kashmir Valley V
Muhammad Ahmad Raza Qadri of PML-N is leading with 119 votes.
Mahrunissa of All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference is in second place with 44 votes.
7:08pm — Unofficial result from LA-41, Kashmir Valley II
According to unofficial, preliminary results, PTI’s Ghulam Mohiuddin Diwan so far tops the list with 459 votes.
PML-N candidate Muhammad Ikram Butt is in second place with 184 votes.
6:00pm — Fawad Chaudhry claims early PTI victory
Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry has claimed an early victory for PTI in the Pindadan Khan and Khewra tehsils.
He said that voter participation in the AJK polls indicate that people took great interest in casting their vote and that they have expressed full confidence in the polling exercise.
“InshaAllah, Imran Khan’s government in AJK will prove to be a source of strength for the people of occupied Kashmir,” he said.
5:51pm — Unofficial result from LA-40
Out of 3 registered votes in LA-40, only 1 vote was cast, the assistant returning officer has said.
According to unofficial, preliminary results, PPP’s Abdul Ghaffar Lone has won with 1 out of 3 votes.
5:47pm — Unofficial result from LA-34, Jammu I
Out of 7 votes, 3 were cast for for LA-34, Jammu I, Assistant Returning Officer Nadeem Asghar has said.
According to unofficial, preliminary results, PPP’s Zahid Iqbal has won with 3 votes.
5:44pm — Unofficial count from LA-39, Jammu 6
An unofficial count of votes from LA-39 Jammu 6 shows PML-N in the lead and PTI in second place.
PML-N’s Raja Muhammad Siddique leads with 22 votes, whereas PTI’s Nazia Naz is in second place with 10 votes.
Out of 103 registered votes, 34 votes were cast.
5:38pm — Unofficial count from LA-34, Jammu I
An unofficial count of votes from LA-34 Jammu 1 shows PPP in the lead and Jammu and Kashmir Awami Tehreek in second place.
PPP’s Sardar Zahid Iqbal got 3 votes, whereas Jammu and Kashmir Awami Tehreek’s Muhammad Tahir Khokhar has received 1 vote so far.
5:31pm — Unofficial count from LA-25, Neelam Valley I
An unofficial count of votes from LA-25 Neelam Valley 1 shows PML-N in the lead with 132 votes and PTI in second place with 10 votes.
5:29pm — Unofficial count from LA-15, Bagh II
An unofficial count of votes from LA-15 Bagh 2 shows PTI in the lead and PPP in second place.
PTI’s Tanveer Ilya is leading with 73 votes, whereas PPP’s Zia Qamar is in second place with 49 votes.
The constituency has 185 polling stations.
5:16pm — Unofficial count from LA-27, Muzaffarabad I
An unofficial count of votes from LA-27 Muzaffarabad 1 shows PPP in the lead and PTI in second place.
PPP’s Javed Ayub is leading with 139 votes, whereas PTI’s Mir Atiq-ur-Rehman is in second place with 100 votes.
5:00pm — Polling time ends
The gates of polling stations have closed to new voters, however those already queued inside will be allowed to cast their ballot.
4:45pm — The AJK polls in numbers
Polling for the AJK elections has largely continued peacefully across the region and Pakistan, with law enforcement agencies keeping any untoward incidents in check.
There are 5,118 polling stations in Azad Kashmir and 970 in Pakistan.
Out of all these polling stations, only one polling station was fired upon in Kotli.
Twelve incidents have been reported so far during the election of disputes arising between staff members, but these were dealt with instantly and resolved.
A total of 3,019 polling stations in Azad Jammu and Kashmir have been declared as normal, whereas 1,269 polling stations have been declared sensitive and 904 declared highly sensitive.
Of the highly sensitive polling stations, 168 are in Muzaffarabad, 312 in Poonch and 424 in Mirpur.
4:34pm — Marriyum Aurangzeb protests ‘irregularities’, Daska election ‘tactics’
PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb has drawn attention to what she has termed as “irregularities” being reported from various constituencies.
“Complaints of polling agents being prevented from entering polling stations and closure of polling are increasing,” she said.
She claimed that polling has been stalled for two hours at Girls Primary School Kangarhariwala, Union Council Komi Kot.
“Women voters are being treated insultingly,” she added.
Marriyum claimed that there are reports of votes being stamped inside the polling station with the help of staff.
No polling agent was allowed to enter LA-32 Chakar, LA-33 Goharabad except that of PTI, she further claimed.
“The tactics of 2018 and Daska elections are being repeated openly,” Marriyum said.
“If any untoward situation arises then Imran sahib will be responsible,” she said.
The PML-N spokesperson said complaints had been filed with the Election Commission.
4:00pm — Mirpur AJK — AJK CEC condemns killing of two people in Kotli
AJK Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Abdul Rashid Sulehria condemned the killing two people in Kotli.
“An unfortunate incident took place in Kotli. Action will taken against whoever is involved,” said the AJK CEC. He added that one or two such incidents take place during polls.
3:30pm — Kashmiris will support PM Imran Khan vision for Naya Kashmir, claims Fawad
Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary claims that all Kashmiris in AJK will support Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision for Naya Kashmir by voting for the PTI.
In a tweet on Sunday, he said elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir gives hope to the people of Indian occupied Kashmir.
He hoped that one day all of of Kashmir will be able to freely express their views and form a government of their representatives.
3:00pm — PML-N’s Raja Farooq Haider claims his polling agent was thrashed by PTI
AJK PM Raja Farooq Haider claimed that a “PTI ticket holder thrashed” a PML-N polling agent representing him in his constituency.
“A Public Works Department contractor, a ticket holder of PTI entered in polling station no 57 [and] thrashed my polling agent,|” claimed the PML-N candidate. He added that he has conveyed the incident to the returning officer and warned that if the action was not stopped then her has “every right to take action”.
2:00pm — Kotli, AJK — two people killed due to clashes between political parties
At least two people were killed due to clashes between political parties in Kotli, police said on Sunday.
The police said that the two other people who were injured are being treated at a hospital
1:30pm — PML-N workers exposing vote thieves: Maryam Nawaz
PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz tweeted that the her party workers are standing firmly and exposing the “vote thieves”.
“PML-N workers are standing firm and exposing vote thieves,” said Maryam. She added that the Nawaz Sharif’s slogan of “vote ko izzat do”, respect the vote, has given her party “active activists”.
1:15pm — PPP demands re-polling in two polling stations of LA-29
Head of PPP’s central election cell Taj Haider has demanded the secretary election commission to hold repolling in polling stations 29 and 30 of LA-29.
In the letter, Haider said that repolling should be done as the polling was stopped due to a scuffle. He also claimed that in polling station 98 of LA-16 PPP voters were beaten.
1:00pm — Peshawar, Pakistan — Polling resumes at govt school after scuffle between principal and polling staff
Polling was stopped briefly at the polling station set up at the Government Shaheed Hussain Ali Shah Higher Secondary School after a physical altercation between the school principal and the presiding officer.
The physical altercation between the two happened over a power outage at the school. The scuffle between the two began after the presiding officer complained about the electricity problem.
The polling process was stopped after the scuffle as the presiding officer and the polling staff refused to perform their duty in protest.
The polling resumed after issues between the polling staff and the principal were resolved.
12:30pm — Bagh, AJK — Seven injured in scuffle outside polling station
Seven people injured after scuffle between to workers of political parties outside a polling station in Bagh.
The scuffle took place in a polling station set up for the constituency LA-15.
12:00pm — AJK PM Raja Farooq Haider claims LEAs “collaborating” with PTI candidate
AJK Prime Minister and PML-N candidate Raja Farooq Haider claimed that the law enforcing agencies are “collaborating” with PTI candidate.
“I was told just now that in MZD 7 Dara Batangi and Banayia law enforcing agencies are collaborating with PTI candidate,” tweetd the AJK PM.
11:30am — Gujranwala, Pakistan — PML-N won’t let the presiding officer go till Form-45 is given
PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah, in a press conference, vowed that his party’s polling agents will not let the presiding officers leaving the polling stations without the From-45.
Sanaullah said that votes will be counted in front of the polling agents and asked the deputy commissioner Gujranwala to cancel his plans to visit the polling stations.
11:00am — PTI to carry the day, claims Shibli Faraz
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz claimed on Sunday that the PTI will emerge victorious in the AJK polls.
Faraz said that the “tried and tested” PML-N and PPP have failed and PTI will “carry the day”.
10:30am — More than 3,800 voters to Kashmiris to cast votes in Karachi
Regional election commissioner Nadeem Haider told Geo News that 3,860 Kashmir voters are in Karachi for the two seats — LA-34 and LA-40 — allocated for the refugees.
10:00am — 25 polling stations set up in Lahore
A total of 25 polling stations have been set up in Lahore so that people can cast their votes for two seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly. The process of polling started on time.
9:30am — Polling stopped in constituency Muzaffarabad LA-27
Police said that polling in Muzaffarabad LA-27 was stopped after a scuffle between two groups.
9:00am — AJK CEC predicts 56% voter turnout
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) retired Justice Abdul Rashid Sulehria has predicted that the voter turnout for today’s polls will be around 56%.
Addressing a press conference, the AJK CEC said that his institution has directed the presiding officers to announce the results at once. He also added that they have been directed to provide a copy of the results to the polling agents.
8am — Polling underway for 45 assembly seats
Polling stations have been opened across AJK and Pakistan for the voters to take part in today’s elections.
