Polling in the third and final phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections ended on Monday, with vote counting beginning at several polling stations.

Voting was held in four constituencies — three in Bagh district and one in Haveli — after polling in seven constituencies of the Poonch division was postponed due to the law and order situation.

Polling officially ended at 5pm, but voters present inside polling stations were allowed to cast their ballots. Counting subsequently began at some polling stations.

According to unofficial and unverified results received by Aaj News, Awami Party candidate Sajid Abbasi was leading Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan of the Muslim Conference after results from two polling stations in LA-14 Bagh.

Abbasi had secured 385 votes, while Sardar Attique had received 102 votes, according to the preliminary results.

A total of 72 candidates were contesting the four constituencies, including the incumbent AJK prime minister and two former prime ministers.

Around 460,000 voters were eligible to cast their ballots in the four constituencies.

In LA-14 Bagh, 21 candidates, including former AJK prime minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, were in the contest. In LA-15 Bagh, former prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was among 20 candidates, while 22 candidates contested LA-16 Bagh.

In LA-17 Haveli, incumbent AJK Prime Minister Faisal Rathore was among nine candidates seeking election.

The presence of the heads of the Muslim Conference and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) in the four constituencies added to the political significance of the final phase.

According to AJK Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Mustafa Mughal, polling in the remaining seven constituencies was postponed because of the law and order situation. A fresh schedule for those constituencies will be announced later.

Polling was postponed in five constituencies of Poonch and two of Sudhanoti.

Election authorities had deployed polling staff and election material to the four constituencies and made extensive security arrangements for the voting process.

The first phase of the AJK elections saw the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) win nine of 13 seats in the Mirpur division, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured four.

In the second phase, the PML-N won 15 of 21 seats, while the PPP secured the remaining six.