PML-N sweeps Pindi refugee seats in AJK polls
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured victory in two Jammu and Kashmir refugee constituencies in Rawalpindi Division, winning LA-43 Valley-4 and LA-44 Valley-5 in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections.
According to unofficial and preliminary results from all 10 polling stations in LA-43 Valley-4, PML-N candidate Yasin Lone won the seat with 1,276 votes, while Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Javed Butt finished second with 563 votes.
Unofficial results from all 27 polling stations in LA-44 Valley-5 showed PML-N candidate Ahmed Raza Qadri winning with 1,700 votes. Muslim Conference candidate Mehar Nisa secured 650 votes to finish second, while PPP candidate Rashid Islam came third. The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party candidate suffered a heavy defeat.
Following the announcement of the results, PML-N workers gathered outside the residence of MNA Tahira Aurangzeb, where they distributed sweets and celebrated with traditional dances.
Federal Minister Hanif Abbasi said the party's candidate Raja Mohammad Siddique had also won LA-39 Jammu-6, covering Islamabad and Rawalpindi, although vote counting in the large constituency was still under way.
Tahira Aurangzeb also displayed Form-45s of the two winning constituencies before the media.
Meanwhile, in Murree, complete unofficial results from LA-44 Valley-5 showed Ahmed Raza Qadri securing 379 votes, defeating PPP candidate Arshad Islam Butt, who received 177 votes. Out of 1,121 registered voters, 556 cast their ballots, resulting in a turnout of nearly 50 per cent.
Polling remained peaceful throughout the day before the official announcement of the results.
A total of 22 candidates, including four women, contested the three refugee seats. There were 27,907 registered voters, including 14,917 men and 12,990 women, across 175 polling stations, of which 31 were declared sensitive. Valley-4 had 3,346 voters, Valley-5 had 3,804, while Jammu-6 was the largest constituency with 20,807 registered voters.
Election day sans fervour
On Sunday, the polling process remained largely devoid of the traditional election-day atmosphere usually associated with general elections.
There were no drums, campaign music or large banners displaying candidates' portraits, while polling stations witnessed little activity for most of the day. Voters faced no queues and ballots were cast immediately upon arrival after their identity documents were verified.
Although national identity cards were mandatory, some voters were allowed to vote after presenting driving licences or passports following requests by candidates.
Media personnel were repeatedly prevented by police from entering polling stations. As the election was held on a Sunday, many residents began their day late and continued with routine business activities, showing little interest in the polling process.
Rawalpindi Division has 51 densely populated Kashmiri localities and housing societies, yet these areas lacked the usual campaign banners and posters. Candidates also avoided public rallies during the campaign, holding only meetings in hotels and marriage halls attended largely by political workers from Punjab rather than Kashmiri voters.