POONCH (Kashmir English): In the third phase of general elections to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, polling is underway uninterruptedly from this morning on four seats in two districts of Poonch division.
More than 460,000 voters are exercising their franchise in these elections, while a total of 82 candidates are trying their luck in these four constituencies.
The Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission have made special arrangements at all polling stations to ensure smooth conduct of the election process.
According to the schedule issued by the Election Commission of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the polling process began at 8 am and will continue till 5 pm without any break.
The counting of votes will begin as soon as the polling time ends, after which the provisional and unofficial results will be announced, while the official and official results will be announced by the Election Commission later.
During this third phase, voting is being held in three constituencies of Bagh district – West Bagh, Central Bagh and Sharqi Bagh, while in the only constituency of Haveli district.
Elections Protocols
According to the Election Commission, the election staff, security personnel and necessary election equipment required to make the polling process peaceful, transparent and impartial in all constituencies were delivered to all the relevant polling stations on time.
Strict and comprehensive security arrangements have been made around the polling stations and at sensitive locations where security personnel are constantly deployed, and the election process is being monitored without interruption so that citizens can cast their votes without fear or danger.
Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal has clarified in an important statement that, keeping in mind security reasons and the current situation in the region, the Election Commission has decided to complete the election process only in four seats of Bagh and Haveli for the time being.
He further said that there is a strong possibility of announcing new election dates in the remaining 7 constituencies of Rawalakot and Sidhnuti in the next 7 days; however, all the candidates of these postponed constituencies will be provided with adequate and full time to campaign.
Competition between the candidates
According to the detailed list of constituencies, the situation of who is competing with whom is as follows:
The first constituency of Bagh district is LA-14 West Bagh, where Sardar Atiq Ahmed, the head of the Resta Jamaat-e-Muslim Conference, had won by securing 25,389 votes in the 2021 general elections.
This time, his main competition is with the candidate of the Awami Hand and Arm (Awami Hand and Arm), Sardar Sajid Iqbal, and a very tough competition is expected here, as Jamaat-e-Islami has also officially announced its support for Sardar Sajid Iqbal in this constituency.
In the 2021 elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ticket holder Sardar Tanveer Ilyas won from LA-15 Central Bagh, the second constituency of Bagh district, by securing 19,825 votes, while Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Sardar Zia Qamar came in second place by securing 14,558 votes.
This time, a very dramatic situation has arisen in this constituency, where Sardar Tanveer Ilyas is contesting the election this time on the platform of the Stability Pakistan Party, while Sardar Zia Qamar is in the fray as a candidate of his old party, the People’s Party.
In addition, the Muslim League (N) has issued its ticket to Mushtaq Minhas, and Brigadier (retd) Dr. Muhammad Khan is contesting the election on the platform of the Jamaat-e-Islami, due to which the four strongest candidates are facing each other in this constituency and a fierce competition is expected.
In the last 2021 election, PTI candidate Sardar Mir Akbar won from LA-16 Sharqi Bagh, the third constituency of Bagh, by securing 23,563 votes, while PPP ticket holder Sardar Qamar-uz-Zaman came in second place with 23,267 votes.
Sardar Mir Akbar has now again contested from this constituency on a PML-N ticket after a political change, and he is once again in a very tough competition with PPP candidate Sardar Qamar-uz-Zaman.
The 2021 election from LA-17, the only constituency in Haveli Kahuta district, was won by the current Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on a PPP ticket by securing 30,085 votes, while PML-N candidate Chaudhry Aziz came in second place by securing 25,421 votes.
This time, the current Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore is facing Chaudhry Aziz’s (late) son Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz, who is representing the Muslim League (N), and it is being described as the biggest election contest in this division.
Apart from this, Khawaja Tariq Saeed, who was associated with the PPP in the past, is also in the fray as an independent candidate from this constituency. The eyes of the entire Azad Kashmir are currently fixed on this important constituency and the toughest contest is expected between Faisal Rathore and Mohsin Aziz.
