Muzaffarabad, August 3, 2026 (Ghufran): The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the dominant party in the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, winning 14 out of the 19 contested seats, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured five seats. Polling was held on Sunday across 19 constituencies, including seven seats in the Muzaffarabad Division and 12 constituencies reserved for Kashmiri refugees residing in Pakistan. Voting in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I and LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II was postponed until Tuesday due to adverse weather conditions.
In Neelum Valley, PML-N’s Shah Ghulam Qadir won LA-25 Neelum-I with 19,201 votes, defeating PPP candidate Mian Abdul Waheed, who received 13,596 votes. However, PPP’s Mian Abdul Waheed secured victory in LA-26 Neelum-II with 16,524 votes, defeating the PML-N candidate. In the Muzaffarabad Division, PML-N candidates Mustafa Bashir Abbasi, Saqib Majeed Raja, and former AJK Prime Minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider won LA-30, LA-31, and LA-32, respectively. PPP secured LA-29 Muzaffarabad-III through Sardar Mukhtar Khan and LA-33 Muzaffarabad-VII through Diwan Ali Khan Qamar Chughtai. Among the refugee constituencies, PML-N maintained a strong lead by winning LA-34 Jammu-I, LA-35 Jammu-II, LA-36 Jammu-III, LA-37 Jammu-IV, LA-38 Jammu-V, LA-39 Jammu-VI, LA-41 Kashmir Valley-II, LA-42 Kashmir Valley-III, LA-43 Kashmir Valley-IV, and LA-44 Kashmir Valley-V.
PPP claimed victories in LA-40 Kashmir Valley-I through Amir Abdul Ghaffar and LA-45 Kashmir Valley-VI through Abdul Majeed Khan, in addition to its wins in LA-26, LA-29, and LA-33. Election authorities have begun issuing official notifications for successful candidates. Returning officers formally declared Shah Ghulam Qadir elected from LA-25 Neelum-I and Mian Abdul Waheed from LA-26 Neelum-II, while the consolidation of results in the remaining constituencies continued. Meanwhile, the PPP rejected the election results, alleging widespread rigging during the polling process. Senior PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf described the elections as neither free nor fair, accusing the AJK Election Commission of failing to address complaints. He also alleged that acting AJK President Chaudhry Latif Akbar was assaulted by PML-N supporters during polling. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari separately condemned the killing of party worker Mushtaq Shah in LA-31 and expressed condolences to the bereaved family.
The PML-N strongly rejected the allegations of electoral rigging. Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah stated that the PPP began raising allegations while polling was still in progress and maintained that only three minor incidents occurred during the election. He denied claims that Chaudhry Latif Akbar or MNA Salahuddin Junejo were attacked, attributing the reported incidents to local disputes. With the second phase largely completed, PML-N has established a commanding lead in the AJK Legislative Assembly, while polling for the remaining two Muzaffarabad constituencies is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.