MUZAFFARABAD – Polling is being held today in four constituencies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as the third phase of the 2026 Legislative Assembly elections gets underway under a revised schedule.
Under the new schedule, voters in three constituencies of Bagh district and one constituency of Haveli district are casting their ballots. Elections in five constituencies of Poonch district and two constituencies of Sudhnoti district have been postponed.
The four constituencies have attracted particular attention as senior political figures are contesting from the area. T
he heads of two major political parties, Muslim Conference and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), former prime ministers Sardar Attique and Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, as well as AJK Prime Minister Faisal Rathore, are among those testing their political fortunes in the elections.
According to the Chief Election Commissioner, around 460,000 voters are eligible to exercise their right to vote in the constituencies going to polls in this phase. Security arrangements have also been completed for all four constituencies.
Who vs Who in Four Constituencies
LA-14 Dhirkot: Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan vs Sajid Iqbal Abbasi
LA-15 Wasti Bagh: Sardar Tanveer Ilyas vs Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas vs Sardar Ziaul Qamar vs Brig Dr Mohammad Khan
LA-16 Sharqi Bagh: Sardar Mir Akbar vs Sardar Qamar Zaman
LA-17 Haveli: Faisal Mumtaz Rathore vs Engr Mohsin Aziz vs Khawaja Tariq Saeed
The first phase of the 2026 AJK Assembly elections was held in the Mirpur division, where Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won nine of the 13 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured four.
In the second phase, voting was held for nine seats in the Muzaffarabad division and 12 seats reserved for refugees. PML-N won 15 seats, while PPP secured six.
With the results of the first two phases, PML-N is currently leading in the 45-member AJK Legislative Assembly with 24 seats, while PPP stands second with 10 seats.
The third phase is expected to further shape the balance of power in the AJK Legislative Assembly as voters in Bagh and Haveli cast their ballots.
Last week, The AJK Election Commission revised the schedule for the third phase of the region’s elections, postponing polling in two districts of Poonch Division.
The revised schedule showed that the elections in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts have been deferred, while the third phase of polling will now be conducted in Bagh and Haveli districts.
The decision came as the electoral process in Azad Jammu and Kashmir moves into its final phase. The first phase of polling was held on July 27, while voters in constituencies included in the second phase cast their ballots on August 2.
