Islamabad: Polling in the third phase of elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was held on Monday in four constituencies amid violence and allegations of rigging. Seven other constituencies were left out when elections were indefinitely postponed over concerns about law and order.
The first two phases of the elections took place on July 27 and August 2. They were both accompanied by violent protests and claims of cheating. So far, the establishment-supported Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has won the most seats, 24. Its coalition partner at the Centre, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has taken 10 of the 34 seats that have been decided so far.
A total of 45 seats are to be contested in the elections. It is thought that the PML-N will form the government in the area. The party has said its leader, Nawaz Sharif, would choose the candidate for the post of prime minister.
Voting started at 8 am in Bagh and Haveli of Poonch Division. Clashes were noted between the workers of PML-N and PPP in some places. The regional election commission had marked most of the 803 polling centers in the four constituencies as sensitive or highly sensitive.
The Election Commission notified that polling for seven seats in Poonch Division has been deferred due to “law and order” situation.
The PPP blamed the PML-N for widespread rigging in the third phase. The party said in various X posts that the roads to Banni Marasira had been blocked. They also said that people in support of the PML-N had illegally stamped ballot papers at several polling stations.
The PPP said that some persons were unable to get to a number of polling stations and see what was happening inside due to the interference of polling agents and other party workers. It alleged that there had been a delay in starting the voting at some polling stations because polling staff had not arrived.
The PPP claimed that some of its polling agents were forced out of some polling stations. The party said that PML-N supporters were stamping ballot papers at those stations. The PPP additionally posted a video that it claimed showed PML-N workers assaulting a polling station set up at a school in LA-15 Central Bagh.
Violence, claims of rigging and clashes plagued earlier stages of voting. A large number of people have been protesting in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir since early June under the banner of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The regional government banned the group in June.
Removal of 12 controversial seats: One of the major demands of JAAC has been the removal of 12 controversial refugee seats in the region. It is alleged that the seats are being used by the establishment to assist in installing a prime minister of its choice in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The protests were followed by a major crackdown by security forces, in which dozens of people were killed. The JAAC has said that about 400 protesters have been killed since the first week of June and that over 40 people were killed during the first phase of voting on July 27. But adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Rana Sanaullah has said that the number of protesters killed was only in the double digits.
India states that the whole Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an inalienably integral part of India and that Pakistan is occupying parts of these territories illegally and by force.
The third phase of elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was therefore conducted amidst violence, postponed polling and fresh allegations of rigging. Earlier two phases had been conducted amid similar unrest and controversy.
English
