The third phase of the 2026 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections saw the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerge as the leading contenders, while Muslim Conference chief Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan suffered a major upset on his home turf.

Polling was held in four constituencies across Bagh and Haveli districts of Poonch division, with unofficial and non-final results emerging on Monday night. The latest figures remain unofficial and non-final, with counting and the formal announcement of results still underway.

The biggest upset came in LA-14 Bagh, where Public Dast-o-Bazu Party candidate Sajid Abbasi defeated Sardar Attique with 40,702 votes. The Muslim Conference leader secured 19,542 votes in his home constituency.

In LA-17 Haveli-Kahuta, PPP candidate Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was leading with 29,413 votes after results from 171 of 199 polling stations. PML-N candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz was close behind with 27,319 votes.

In LA-15 Bagh-II, PPP’s Zia Qamar was ahead with 13,500 votes based on results from 130 of 213 polling stations. PML-N candidate Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas had secured 8,400 votes.

Meanwhile, PML-N candidate Sardar Mir Akbar Khan was leading in LA-16 Bagh-III, securing 13,589 votes from 123 of 186 polling stations. PPP candidate Sardar Qamar Zaman Khan was in second place with 11,355 votes.

Parties raise polling complaints

The PPP alleged that polling was delayed at several polling stations in constituencies LA-15 and LA-16 and said it had lodged complaints with the AJK chief election commissioner.

Zia Qamar separately filed an emergency complaint over polling stations 143 and 144 in Hattala Padhar, alleging that polling staff had not arrived and voting had not begun even 90 minutes after the scheduled start.

The PPP also accused PML-N of removing its polling agents from seven polling stations, numbered 8 to 14, in Bani Maldhara in LA-14 and stamping ballot papers. The party said it had submitted a complaint to the election commission over the allegations.

Similar allegations had earlier been levelled against PML-N regarding polling stations 119 and 120 in LA-16, prompting another complaint to the election authorities.

PML-N maintains lead

In the first phase of the AJK elections, PML-N won nine of the 13 seats in the Mirpur division, while PPP secured four.

The second phase covered nine seats in Muzaffarabad division and 12 seats reserved for refugees. PML-N won 15 of those seats, while PPP secured six.

With the results from the first two phases and emerging results from the third phase, PML-N remains ahead with 24 seats, while PPP has 10 seats in the 45-member assembly.