MIRPUR: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has gained an early advantage in the first phase of the 2026 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, according to provisional and unofficial vote counts. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is trailing in second place.
Polling took place on Monday across 13 constituencies in the districts of Mirpur, Kotli, and Bhimber. Due to a strong voter turnout, the Election Commission extended polling by one hour beyond the scheduled 5:00 p.m. closing time. Ballot counting is ongoing, with unofficial results continuing to emerge.
Preliminary results have been received from 11 of the 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division. Based on these figures, PML-N has secured victory in eight constituencies, while PPP has won three.
More than 1.4 million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots across the region. To facilitate the election process, authorities established 2,454 polling stations, including 597 in Mirpur, 1,107 in Kotli, and 608 in Bhimber.
Election officials had identified several polling stations as sensitive due to security concerns. In LA-8 (Raj Mahal-I), 66 polling stations were declared highly sensitive, 44 sensitive, and 43 normal. LA-9 (Kotli-II) included 113 highly sensitive and 63 sensitive polling stations.
Similarly, LA-11 (Sehensa, Kotli-IV) had 77 highly sensitive and 91 sensitive polling stations, while all 113 polling stations in LA-12 (Kotli-V, Charhoi) were placed in the highly sensitive category. In LA-13 (Kotli-VI), authorities designated 91 polling stations as highly sensitive, 51 as sensitive, and 51 as normal. Security was strengthened across all vulnerable polling locations to ensure a peaceful voting process.
Ahead of polling day, the AJK Election Commission suspended and arrested two presiding officers in Kotli after they failed to report to their assigned polling stations and were found at a private residence. The commission promptly appointed replacement officials to ensure voting proceeded without disruption.
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