Counting under way in AJK LG polls

PTI suffers setback in AJK PM’s Union Council

MIRPUR:

The independent candidates sailed through the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir local government elections while the mainstream parties trailed behind.

According to details, independent candidates are leading in municipal corporation seats, with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) securing two seats each.

In the town committee seats, the PTI won three seats while the independent candidates secured two. The independent candidates won most of the Municipal Corporation seats.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won five seats in Kahuta district, while its federal allies, the PPP, won four. The PTI trailed behind and won only one seat. The independent candidates also performed well.

According to media reports, the PTI suffered a major defeat in the Union Council of AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilays.

The second phase of the AJK LG elections was completed after a mammoth chunk of over 1.16 million registered voters used their right of franchise to elect their representatives to the civic institutions in all four districts of the Poonch division, including Rawalakot, Sudhanoti, Bagh and Haveili.

At least 3,500 armed troops of civil forces, including Punjab and K-P police, were made available to assist the local civil administration and AJK police in ensuring the holding of the civic polls in a free, fair, and peaceful manner.

The AJK LG elections are being held in three phases on a political party basis. However, independent candidates are also in the running to contest the polls and get into the civic bodies of all categories across the liberated territory.

Adequate arrangements have been made for holding the AJK LG polls in a due free, fair, and transparent manner after a long pause of over three decades.

In the first phase, the LG elections were held in the Muzaffarabad Division on November 27. In the second phase of the polls held in the Poonch division on Saturday, a total of 1.16 million registered voters took part in the polling in their respective union councils, besides the district councils and municipalities of their respective areas.

Polling started at 8am and continued till 5pm without pause. A total of 1,859 polling stations containing 2,697 polling booths were set up in all four districts of the Poonch Division, wherein 558 polling stations were set up for male voters, 542 for female voters, and 762 joint polling stations were set up to facilitate the registered voters.

Polling all over the Poonch Division mostly remained peaceful, according to the reports. The counting of votes started soon after the completion of the polling process under the auspices of the returning officers of the constituencies concerned in all four districts.

The polling in the third and last phase of the elections will be held in all three districts of Mirpur Division, including Mirpur, Kotli, and Bhimber, on December 8.

A total of 1.2 million registered voters will exercise their right to vote. Kotli district has 563,016 registered voters, Mirpur district 366,043, and Bhimber district 303,020.

A total of 1,026 polling stations would be set up in Kotli district, 625 in Mirpur district, and 538 in Bhimber district, with 1,602, 924, and 850 polling booths, respectively, to facilitate both male and female registered voters.

The Muzaffarabad Division comprises three districts: Muzaffarabad, Neelam Valley, and Jhelum Valley.

It has a total of 695,049 registered male and female voters, and the LG polls were held in the first phase on November 27.

(With input from APP)