ISLAMABAD, AUG 10: Polling for the third phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections began on Monday in four constituencies across Bagh and Haveli districts of Poonch Division.
The AJK chief election commissioner said that around 460,000 voters would exercise their right to vote in the four constituencies.
Polling began at 8am and will continue until 5pm, according to the AJK Election Commission.
The chief election commissioner said that security arrangements had also been completed in all four constituencies to facilitate the polling process.
Meanwhile, elections for five seats in Poonch district and two seats in Sudhnoti district have been postponed.
PPP slams delay
As the voting process continued, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman raised concerns over delayed polling and alleged restrictions on PPP’s polling agents at several stations.
Rehman expressed concern over delays in the start of polling at various stations in LA-16 and LA-15, urging that the lost time be compensated for and voters be given a full opportunity to exercise their right to vote.
She also alleged that PPP polling agents were prevented from entering polling stations 119 and 120, saying the move raised questions about transparency.
“Preventing polling agents from monitoring the electoral process is against transparent elections,” she said.
The PPP leader also called for immediate alternative arrangements to address shortages of polling staff and electoral material.
Allegations ‘not as intense as before’
Addressing a presser in Islamabad, Rana Sanaullah, adviser to the prime minister and a senior leader of the PML-N, urged protest groups to end their sit-in as polling continues in AJK.
The senior PML-N leader said that those taking up arms or becoming tools of the enemy would have to face the law.
However, the government would review the legitimate demands of protesters, he added.
He alleged that the PPP was masking its defeat through a rigging narrative, although he noted that the party’s allegations were “not as intense as before”.
The AJK chief election commissioner had previously said that once the issue of the sit-ins is resolved, they would be in a position to announce the polling date for Rawalakot within the next few days.
Previous election outcome
In the first phase of the AJK elections, the PML-N won nine of 13 seats in the Mirpur division, while the PPP secured four.
In the second phase, voters cast ballots for nine seats in the Muzaffarabad division and 12 seats reserved for refugees. The PML-N won 15 seats, while the PPP secured six.
The PML-N has emerged as the dominant party in the region, securing 24 seats, while the PPP has won 10 seats in the first two phases of the elections.
Sanaullah said on August 8 that the PML-N needed just six more seats to secure a two-thirds majority in AJK.
A day before that, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the PML-N was mistaken in believing it would form the government in AJK, saying: “In fact, their [PML-N’s] government in Islamabad is also at risk.”
He reiterated that the countdown for the PML-N government has started, adding that “it was started by their own people.”
