MUZAFFARABAD: In what was widely believed to be a neck-and-neck fight, Barrister Sultan Mahmood of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) defeated Chaudhry Mohammad Ashraf of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) by almost 3,000 votes in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) by-poll on Sunday.

AJK Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice Munir Ahmed Chaudhry told Dawn.com that per unofficial results from all 111 polling stations, Sultan Mahmood bagged 15,485 votes while Chaudhry Ashraf received 12,559 votes.

PPP’s Ashraf had also been able to gather support from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which withdrew its nominee in his favour.

“The polling was held in a peaceful atmosphere and it all became possible because of the deployment of Rangers personnel,” the CEC said.

He also appreciated the local administration and police for their effective contribution to maintenance of law and order in the highly-charged constituency.

The seat – LA-3, Mirpur-III – had fallen vacant after Sultan Mahmood resigned from the AJK Assembly, a day before joining PTI on February 5 as its regional chief.

Ever since the announcement of the election schedule, AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed and his cabinet members had camped at Mirpur to woo voters.

In a dramatic development on Friday, the PML-N had pulled out its candidate in favour of PPP’s Ashraf, reportedly after former president Asif Ali Zardari requested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his backing.

Know more: PML-N backs PPPAJK in by-poll against PTI.

But the move backfired as most PML-N workers did not vote for Ashraf, ultimately benefitting PTI’s Mahmood.

Shortly after it became clear that Mahmood had won, thousands of people thronged his election office at Mian Mohammad Road, and shouted slogans to celebrate the victory.

Mahmood thanked the people of Mirpur for reposing their trust in him, resisting all “temptations and coercions.”

“We have taken two wickets with one ball,” he said, in a reference to the PPP and PML-N. “There will be a plethora of good news for PTI workers in the days to come.”

One of Mahmood’s aides told Dawn.com that PTI Chairman Imran Khan also called to felicitate him on his victory.

Prior to Sunday’s by-election, the LA-3 constituency of AJK had witnessed polls in seven general elections since 1985, of which Sultan Mahmood had emerged victorious in all except one.