AJKEC orders re-polling at 23 polling stations
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission (AJKEC) on Tuesday ordered re-polling at 23 polling stations in two closely contested Bagh constituencies, setting August 15 as the new polling date, a move that could affect the final outcome of the seats.
The re-polling will be held at nine polling stations in LA-15 Bagh-II and 14 polling stations in LA-16 Bagh-III. The re-polling in LA-15 Bagh-II will be conducted at polling stations 114, 135, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148 and 186. In LA-16 Bagh-III, voters will cast their ballots again at polling stations 28, 29, 40, 49, 50, 51, 77, 91, 109, 110, 111, 112, 143 and 149.
Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal said the decision was taken after the commission received reports from the respective returning officers regarding the polling held in the two constituencies.
He said results from 204 of the 213 polling stations in LA-15 Bagh-II had already been received by the returning officer, while results from 172 of 186 polling stations in LA-16 Bagh-III had been received.
The AJKEC directed voters registered at the affected polling stations to return to their designated polling locations on August 15 and exercise their right to vote. Mughal urged voters in both constituencies to participate in the re-polling process and elect their representatives for the next five years.
The decision to order fresh polling leaves the final picture in the two Bagh constituencies open until the votes cast on August 15 are counted and incorporated into the results.
Meanwhile, the election result in AJK's closely watched LA-17 Haveli constituency remained in limbo on Tuesday after both leading candidates from the PML-N and the PPP claimed victory, deepening uncertainty over the final outcome of the fiercely contested seat.
CEC Mughal ordered the ballot bags containing votes to be transported from Haveli to Muzaffarabad via Bagh under heightened security to ensure their safety and prevent any possible damage to the votes.
He said a final decision on whether to announce the result based on the available record or order a recount would be taken by the commission.
The delay has triggered a political standoff in the constituency, with PPP candidate Faisal Mumtaz Rathore and PML-N candidate Mohsin Aziz both claiming victory. Rathore claimed that he had secured 31,839 votes, describing the figure as sufficient to establish his victory in the constituency.
Aziz, however, rejected the claim and maintained that he had won LA-17 Haveli by a margin of around 6,000 votes. He alleged that the election results were being manipulated to portray him as the losing candidate despite what he described as his clear victory.
The competing claims have added to political tensions surrounding the constituency as supporters of both candidates await the election commission's decision.
Meanwhile, PML-N Azad Kashmir President Shah Ghulam Qadir expressed serious reservations over the handling of the election result and alleged that "great injustice" had been done to his party's candidate.
Qadir alleged that "fabricated results" had been prepared in an attempt to deprive Aziz of his legitimate right and said the party had serious concerns about the process through which the result was being compiled and withheld.
The PML-N president said the alleged discrepancies in the results had left party workers and supporters "extremely charged up". He, however, urged Aziz and his supporters to remain calm and peaceful and avoid any action that could create a law-and-order situation.
"The protection of the electoral process and the people's mandate is the responsibility of the election commission," Qadir said, urging the electoral body to conduct a transparent and impartial review of all objections raised regarding the result.
The controversy over LA-17 Haveli and the re-polling ordered in the two Bagh constituencies comes as the election commission moves to complete the final process of the 2026 AJK general elections.
The outcome of the affected constituencies is now expected to determine the final composition of the AJK Legislative Assembly and settle the closely contested seats. Until the commission makes a formal announcement, neither candidate's claim in LA-17 Haveli can be treated as the official result.
Meanwhile, the AJKEC declared Awami Dast-o-Bazu candidate Sardar Sajid Abbasi elected from LA-14 DhirKot (Western Bagh).