ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling party secured the premiership of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Friday after lawmakers elected its candidate Iftikhar Gilani to lead the regional government following elections marred by unrest and left incomplete in seven constituencies.

Gilani, a member of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), received 30 votes against 14 for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi in the 53-member regional legislature, where only 46 seats are currently filled.

“The total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is 53,” Speaker Tariq Farooq told an assembly session in Muzaffarabad, the AJK capital. “Elections were not held in seven constituencies. The current total number of members of the Assembly is 46.”

“The number of votes cast in favor of Mr. Syed Iftikhar Gilani is 30,” he said after balloting, adding that Abbasi had received 14 votes.

The leadership vote follows an election process originally scheduled to take place across AJK on July 27 but later divided into phases because of security concerns.

Polling went ahead in stages from July 27, but elections have still not been held in seven constituencies in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts after authorities postponed voting there over law-and-order concerns.

The PML-N currently has the support of 32 lawmakers including allies, while the PPP has 14 members in the assembly, according to local media reports.

Gilani had earlier said after submitting his nomination papers for the region’s top political office that his party would form a government focused on the public.

“The Muslim League government will be a government of the people, it will be the people’s era, and you and every person in the state will see that,” he told a reporter in a video later circulated on social media.

Prime Minister Sharif congratulated Gilani shortly after the result, crediting the PML-N’s victory to the party leadership.

He said he hoped Gilani would play an active role in AJK’s development and public welfare and pledged continued federal government support for improving living standards in the region.

“The continuation of the democratic process in Azad Jammu and Kashmir is welcome,” Sharif said in a statement issued by his office.