MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi has been elected president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), securing 32 votes in Thursday’s presidential election.
Naqi defeated Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nominee Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who received 13 votes in the polling held at the AJK Legislative Assembly Secretariat.
The election process was conducted from 11am to 1pm, followed by vote counting. One PPP lawmaker, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, remained absent from the session.
Naqi’s election fills the constitutional office that had remained vacant since January following the death of former AJK president Barrister Sultan Mahmood.
Under the AJK Constitution, the president is elected by members of the Legislative Assembly through a majority of the total membership.
Dr Najeeb Naqi, who belongs to Sudhnoti district, has previously served as AJK health minister from 2006 to 2011. He later held the same portfolio in the PML-N government from 2016 to 2021.
The newly elected president is expected to take oath of office shortly.
PML-N wins majority of reserved seats
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of AJK announced results for seven reserved seats of the Legislative Assembly.
The PML-N secured three seats reserved for women, while the PPP won two. PML-N’s Barrister Iftikhar Gillani was elected on the technocrat seat, while Syed Mazhar Shah secured the seat reserved for Ulema and Mashaikh.
The PML-N had also secured the overseas-reserved seat without opposition.
The election results further consolidated the PML-N’s position in the AJK Assembly ahead of the presidential vote. The party’s 31 lawmakers were joined by one allied member, while the PPP had 14 members.
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