Muzaffarabad (Web Desk): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) established a commanding lead in the opening phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections by securing nine of the 13 contested constituencies, according to unofficial and provisional results released after voting concluded on Monday.
The first phase of polling was conducted across 13 constituencies in the districts of Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber.
Voting officially ended at 5pm, while electors already present inside polling stations were permitted to cast their ballots during an additional hour before the counting process began.
The unofficial results show that PML-N claimed victory in nine constituencies, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) captured the remaining four seats.
Based on the unofficial tally, PML-N won LA-1 Mirpur-1, LA-4 Mirpur-4, LA-5 Bhimber-1, LA-6 Bhimber-2, LA-7 Bhimber-3, LA-9 Kotli-2, LA-11 Kotli-4, LA-12 Kotli-5 and LA-13 Kotli-6. PPP, meanwhile, emerged victorious in LA-2 Mirpur-2, LA-3 Mirpur-3, LA-8 Kotli-1 and LA-10 Kotli-3.
In LA-1 Mirpur-1, PML-N candidate Azhar Sadiq secured the seat after polling 15,427 votes, comfortably defeating PPP's Muhammad Afser Shahid, who received 9,832 votes.
PPP's Qasim Majeed won LA-2 Mirpur-2 with 12,904 votes, while PML-N candidate Azeem Bakhsh Chaudhry finished as runner-up with 8,182 votes.
In LA-3 Mirpur-3, PPP candidate Chaudhry Yasir Sultan collected 11,676 votes to overcome PML-N's Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed, who secured 9,832 votes.
PML-N's Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed claimed LA-4 Mirpur-4 after receiving 20,172 votes, defeating PPP's Chaudhry Sohaib Arshad, who garnered 13,865 votes.
A closely contested battle unfolded in LA-5 Bhimber-1, where PML-N's Waqar Ahmed Noor obtained 30,259 votes to edge past PPP's Chaudhry Pervaiz Ashraf, who polled 29,574 votes, giving Noor a victory margin of nearly 700 votes.
According to unofficial and provisional figures from all 195 polling stations in LA-6 Bhimber-2, PML-N's Chaudhry Muhammad Razaq was declared the winner with 32,732 votes. Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Ali Shan Chaudhry finished second after securing 26,718 votes.
In LA-7 Bhimber-3, PML-N candidate Chaudhry Tariq Farooq emerged victorious with 35,490 votes, defeating independent contender Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, who managed 25,100 votes.
PPP's Zafar Iqbal Malik won LA-8 Kotli-1 by securing 19,535 votes, while PML-N's Malik Muhammad Nawaz Khan followed with 11,966 votes.
PML-N candidate Umair Naeem captured LA-9 Kotli-2 after polling 31,080 votes, ahead of PPP's Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, who received 28,509 votes.
Unofficial results from all 169 polling stations in LA-10 Kotli-3 showed PPP's Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin winning the constituency with 12,431 votes, while PML-N's Fateh Mehmood-ul-Hassan secured 9,245 votes.
In LA-11 Kotli-4, PML-N's Muhammad Asif was declared successful after obtaining 26,190 votes, defeating PPP's Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, who polled 21,751 votes.
PML-N continued its winning streak in LA-12 Kotli-5, where Muhammad Riasat Khan secured 35,168 votes to defeat PPP's Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, who received 30,320 votes.
The party also claimed LA-13 Kotli-6, with Raja Ayaz Ahmed Khan emerging victorious after polling 21,856 votes. IPP candidate Nisar Ansar Abdali finished in second place with 15,859 votes.