AJK Elections Phase 2: Voting underway for 21 Seats amid PML-N–PPP Showdown

The second phase of 2026 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections kicked off under shadow of escalating political confrontation between coalition partners Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), as more than 1.24 million voters head to the polls to elect representatives for 21 Legislative Assembly seats.

Polling began at 8:00am and will continue until 5:00pm, with authorities deploying extensive security arrangements across Muzaffarabad Division and refugee constituencies amid concerns over electoral disputes and sensitive polling stations amid security situation in the region.

More than 300 candidates are contesting the second phase, including 207 candidates for nine constituencies in Muzaffarabad Division and 137 candidates for 12 refugee seats representing Kashmiri refugees living across the country.

Election Commission registered 809,621 voters in Muzaffarabad Division and 438,834 voters in the refugee constituencies, taking the combined electorate to over 1.24 million.

PML-N and PPP are set for direct contests in most constituencies during the second phase of the 2026 AJK elections, covering LA-25 to LA-45. The fiercest battles are expected in Neelum Valley, Muzaffarabad Division, and the 12 Kashmiri refugee seats across Pakistan.

Former AJK Prime Minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan is among the prominent candidates contesting on a PML-N ticket. While PML-N and PPP remain the main rivals, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and independent candidates are also in the race and could influence outcomes in closely contested constituencies. With campaigning now over, polling is expected to witness tough competition across all key seats.

Constituency	PML-N Candidate	PPP Candidate
LA-26 Neelum-II (Lower Neelum)	Shah Ghulam Qadir	Mian Abdul Waheed
LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I (Katla/Kotla)	Noreen Arif	Sardar Javed Ayub
LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II (Lachhrat/Najrat)	Chaudhry Shehzad Mahmood	Syed Bazil Naqvi
LA-29 Muzaffarabad-III	Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani	Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Khan
LA-30 Hattian Dupatta	Mustafa Bashir Abbasi	Mubashir Munir Awan
LA-31 Muzaffarabad-V (Khawara)	Raja Saqib Majeed	Not consistently reported
LA-32 Chikar/Muzaffarabad-VI	Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan	Ashfaq Zafar
LA-33 Leepa/Muzaffarabad-VII	Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed	Dewan Ali Chughtai
LA-34 Jammu-I	Nasir Hussain Dar	Col. (Retd.) Qadeer Chauhan
LA-35 Jammu-II	Chaudhry Muhammad Ismail	Chaudhry Asif Gujjar
LA-36 Jammu-III	Ahsan Raza	Chaudhry Ahsan Ismail Gujjar
LA-37 Jammu-IV	Maryam Javed	Shaheen Kausar Dar
LA-38 Jammu-V	Zeeshan Ali	Raja Shahid Iqbal Advocate
LA-39 Jammu-VI	Raja Muhammad Siddique	Chaudhry Fakhar Zaman
LA-40 Valley-I	Muhammad Naeem Khan	Amir Abdul Ghaffar Lone
LA-41 Valley-II	Amir Shah	Ghulam Abbas Mir
LA-42 Valley-III	Syed Shaukat Ali Shah	Not prominently reported
LA-43 Valley-IV	Muhammad Yasin Lone	Javed Butt
LA-44 Valley-V	Muhammad Ahmed Raza Qadri	Muhammad Rashid Islam Butt
LA-45 Valley-VI	Khawaja Dilawar Wani (PML-N-backed ally)	Abdul Majeed Khan

The second phase follows PML-N’s commanding performance in the first round of polling in Mirpur Division, where it won nine of the 13 seats, while the PPP secured the remaining four.

However, the first phase left behind a trail of controversy, with the PPP accusing PML-N of orchestrating widespread rigging. The ruling party has categorically rejected the allegations, insisting the election process remained largely transparent.

Despite sharing power in the federal government, relations between PML-N and PPP have deteriorated sharply over the election results. Leaders from both sides held multiple rounds of negotiations in an attempt to resolve the dispute before polling resumed, but the talks failed to produce a breakthrough. The discussions primarily focused on the PPP’s demand for re-polling in constituencies where it alleged electoral irregularities.