PPP beats PML-N to win Azad Jammu & Kashmir by-election

Sardar Ziaul Qamar, the candidate from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), emerged as the unofficial winner in the by-election for Azad Jammu and Kashmir's (AJK) LA-15 constituency, as per reports from The News. The PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), allies at the federal level, were among the parties competing for the seat that became vacant after the disqualification of Ilyas on contempt charges.

After the counting of votes from 189 polling stations, Qamar is leading with 25,755 votes, surpassing PML-N's Mushtaq Minhas, who has secured 20,485 votes so far.

The seat was vacated following the disqualification of former AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanvir Ilyas, who had won the 2018 election with 20,010 votes.

Eighteen candidates, including PTI's colonel (retd) Zamir, contested in the by-election.

The total number of registered voters in the constituency is 101,145, with 53,107 male voters and 48,038 female voters.

PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari congratulated Sardar Ziaul Qamar for his victory in the LA-15 by-election in Bagh, AJK, defeating former minister and PML-N candidate Mushtaq Minhas. Zardari expressed gratitude to the people of AJK for placing their trust in the PPP.

However, PML-N lawmaker Hina Pervaiz Butt accused the PPP of rigging in the by-election, sharing a video on Twitter as evidence. She claimed that individuals affiliated with the PPP were caught red-handed stamping ballot papers in an attempt to manipulate the election.

Another PML-N leader, Attaullah Tarar, stated that their party's candidate had a clear lead in the by-election and raised concerns about reports of rigging. PPP's Faisal Karim Kundi, on the other hand, unofficially congratulated his party, declaring Sardar Ziaul Qamar as the winner by a significant margin in the Bagh-II by-election.

Official results for the AJK's Bagh-II constituency by-election are yet to be released.