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- New president to be sworn in on August 24.
- Sultan Mahmood says he will restore glory to the president’s office again.
- Mahmood says he will never compromise on the issue of occupied Kashmir.
MUZAFFARABAD: PTI’s Barrister Sultan Mahmood was elected as the new president of Azad Kashmir Tuesday, securing 34 votes out of 52.
“I have been elected to the most prestigious office in Azad Kashmir,” said the newly elected president, speaking to media after the polling. “I have secured the highest amounts of votes [for a Kashmir president]. This is a reflection of the [public’s] confidence in Imran Khan,” he added.
Mahmood said he would never compromise on the issue of Kashmir. The president reminded that he had served as the youngest prime minister of Azad Kashmir, adding that he would restore prestige to the office of the president.
Mahmood defeated Mian Abdul Waheed, a joint candidate of the Opposition. Polling began at 10am and went on till 2pm. The chief election commissioner served as the polling agent during the election.
The newly elected president will be sworn in on August 24, on the day the incumbent president’s term expires.
PTI’s Abdul Qayyum Niazi sworn in as AJK’s new prime minister
Earlier this month, the PTI’s Abdul Qayyum Niazi was elected to the office of the prime minister of Azad Kashmir, after the party’s strong showing in the recently held polls.
Niazi had secured the premiership by a comfortable margin, bagging 33 votes.
PPP and PML-N’s joint candidate, Chaudhry Lateef Akbar, had managed to win only 15 votes.
Final seats tally:
After getting their share of the reserved seats, the PTI had emerged as the largest party in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, taking its total seats to 32.
PPP had obtained a total of 12 seats, PML-N seven, and Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party and All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference secured one each.
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