MUZAFFARABAD – Voting for the third phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections underway on Monday in four constituencies of Bagh and Haveli districts, with polling scheduled from 8am to 5pm.
Authorities have deployed additional security personnel across the constituencies amid concerns over law and order. Of the 803 polling stations established for the four constituencies, most have been designated as sensitive or highly sensitive.
According to AJK Election Commission Secretary Raja Mohammad Shakeel, around 10,300 additional troops have been deployed alongside the regular police forces of Bagh and Haveli to ensure security and provide voters with a safe environment.
A total of 460,371 voters, including 238,664 men and 221,707 women, are eligible to cast their ballots through 1,254 polling booths. As many as 82 candidates are contesting the four seats.
The third phase was initially planned for all 11 constituencies of Poonch Division. However, the Election Commission decided to proceed only with the three constituencies in Bagh and one in Haveli because of security concerns. Polling in the remaining seven constituencies of Poonch and Sudhnoti may be conducted later this month.
The phase has attracted considerable political attention, with AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore and former prime ministers Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan among the prominent candidates.
In LA-17 Haveli, Prime Minister Rathore is facing PML-N’s Engr Mohsin Aziz and independent candidate Khawaja Tariq Saeed. Rathore and Saeed were previously political allies but became opponents after Saeed declined to withdraw his candidacy in Rathore’s favour.
LA-15 Wasti Bagh features another closely watched contest, with former prime minister Tanveer Ilyas competing against PML-N’s Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas, PPP’s Sardar Ziaul Qamar and Jamaat-i-Islami candidate retired Brig Dr Mohammad Khan.
In LA-16 Sharqi Bagh, PML-N’s Sardar Mir Akbar and PPP’s Sardar Qamar Zaman are among the leading contenders.
Meanwhile, LA-14 Dhirkot has emerged as one of the most closely watched contests, with Muslim Conference chief Sardar Attique facing a strong challenge from Sajid Iqbal Abbasi of the Awam Dast-o-Bazu Party. The constituency has attracted 30 candidates, the highest number among the four seats.
The first two phases of the AJK elections saw PML-N emerge as the leading party with 24 seats, while PPP has secured 10 seats so far.
