PML-N nominee Dr Najeeb Naqi has been elected the 25th president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, securing 32 votes in the presidential election held at the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Naqi defeated PPP candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who received 13 votes. Congratulations from political figures began arriving following the announcement of the result, with the newly elected president expected to take the oath of office shortly.
The election fills a vacancy that had remained since the death of former president Barrister Sultan Mahmood in January.
Naqi is a senior PML-N politician with previous experience in the AJK government. He served as health minister from 2006 to 2011 and returned to the portfolio during the PML-N administration between 2016 and 2021.
His election follows recent voting for special seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, where the PML-N secured several additional positions.
According to the AJK Election Commission, the PML-N won three seats reserved for women, while the PPP secured two. PML-N candidates Maryam Zaman, Maryam Idrees and Sehrish Qamar each received seven votes.
PML-N’s Barrister Iftikhar Gillani was elected to the technocrat seat, while Syed Mazhar Shah won the seat reserved for the Ulema and Mashaikh Council. Both secured 26 votes, according to the results.
The PML-N had also previously secured the overseas-reserved seat without a contest.
For the PPP, Farzana Yaqoob was declared successful after receiving seven votes, while the Election Commission reported a tie between Riffat Abid and Zobia Khursheed for another women’s seat.