AJK by-election 2021: Counting of votes underway in Mirpur, Kotli constituencies

• 12 candidates are in the run for the Mirpur seat; 14 in the arena to contest the Kotli seat.
• Tough competition is expected between the PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed, the PTI’s Yasir Sultan Chaudhry and the PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf in the Mirpur constituency.
  
• The Mirpur seat had fallen vacant due to Barrister Sultan Mahamood Choudhry's election as AJK president.
• The Kotli seat had fallen vacant due to the resignation of Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin from one out of two seats he had won in the July 25 general elections.

MIRPUR: Amid a thin turnout compared to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir general elections, by-elections at the Mirpur LA-3, Mirpur-III and Charhoi LA-12, Kotli-V seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly were held on Sunday in a peaceful atmosphere.

Counting of votes is underway after polling started at 8am and continued till the stipulated 5pm slot without any pause.

According to Geo News, unofficial and unconfirmed results from 196 out of 198 polling stations of LA-12, Kotli-V have been released. 

A total of 12 candidates, belonging to various political parties and independents, are in the run to contest by-elections in the Mirpur constituency, whereas a total of 14 candidates have jumped into the arena to contest the polls in the Kotli constituency.

A tough competition is expected between the PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed, the PTI’s Yasir Sultan Chaudhry and the PPP’s Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf in the Mirpur constituency.

The LA-3 Mirpur constituency

The LA-3, Mirpur-III seat had fallen vacant due to Barrister Sultan Mahamood Choudhry's election as AJK president who had won this seat as a PTI nominee in the July 25 general elections.

The Mirpur constituency contains a total of 85,925 registered voters including 45,447 male and 40,478 female voters — of whom a thin number reportedly reached the polling stations to exercise their right of franchise to elect their representative to the State Legislative Assembly for the next 5 years.

A total of 147 polling stations including 68 for males, 65 for females and 14 combined were established in Mirpur to facilitate voters.

The LA-12 Kotli constituency

The LA-12 (Charhoi), Kotli-V seat had fallen vacant due to the resignation of Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin from one out of two seats he had won in the July 25 general elections — simultaneously from Kotli city and Charhoi constituencies.

A total of 106,428 voters, including 57,838 male and 48,590 female were registered to exercise their right to elect their representative for the AJK LA.

Closely monitored exercise

AJK Chief Election Commissioner Abdul Rasheed Sulehriya, Senior Member AJK Election Commission Raja Farooq Niaz, District Returning Officer/District and Session Judge Faisal Majeed, Commissioner Mirpur Division Chaudhry Muhammad Raqeeb, DIG Police Mirpur Division Chaudhry Sajad Hussain, Deputy Commissioner Bader Muneer, Senior Superintendent Police Raja Irfan Salim, Assistant Election Commissioner Mirpur district Arshad Hussain and other officials of the district administration closely monitored the election process throughout the day by visiting several polling stations.

“Polling was held in an absolutely free, fair and peaceful atmosphere and there is no report of any disturbance or major incident from any polling station in either of the two constituencies,” Commissioner Raqeeb said.

The divisional commissioner said that the local, divisional and district administrations had made adequate arrangements to maintain law and order.