As unofficial and unconfirmed results began to come in late Sunday night, the PTI was followed by the PML-N, PPP, and a huge number of independent candidates. The PTI had 23 seats in the 46-member Municipal Corporation Mirpur, followed by the PML-N with 13, the PPP with 1, and nine independent candidates, two of whom had already declared their support for the PTI.
The PTI secured 22 seats in the district council of Mirpur, which has 27 members, leaving its competitors in the dust. The PPP, PML-N, and few independents had won the remaining seats.
In the 31-member district council for Bhimber district, the PTI held a 12-seat lead, while the PML-N was close behind with nine seats, followed by three each for the PPP and independents. It’s interesting to note that the PTI and PML-N both have four members in the eight-member Municipal Committee of Bhimber City, and the election for chairman is likely to be decided by toss.
The PTI and independents each held five seats in the 14-member Municipal Corporation of Kotli, which was then followed by the PML-N with three seats and the PPP with one. Independent voters’ willingness is thought to be a major factor in the mayor’s election. Unconfirmed results from 54 seats in Kotli’s largest district council, which has 58 seats, put the PTI ahead of its competitors with 23, followed by the PPP with 14 seats, the PML-N with 13, and four independents.
In a division where there were more than 76 percent of “sensitive” and “most sensitive” polling sites out of a total of 2,188, voting was conducted earlier without any significant incidents of violence. According to the police, they received 12 reports of fights between rival candidates from different parts of the division, during which just one person was hurt. Three non-state subjects were arrested in Bhimber for violating the code of conduct at one polling place, while 11 other people, including a candidate who was running for office, were detained at another polling place, and a rifle and a pistol were taken from them, according to the police.
Although the voter turnout was not immediately available, observers reported seeing lengthy lines of people at practically all polling places, demonstrating their enthusiasm for a procedure that had not been held in more than three decades.