Polling began on Monday in the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, with voters casting ballots across 13 constituencies in the three districts of Mirpur Division.
Polling started at 8am and will continue until 5pm. A total of 296 candidates, including those from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and independents, are contesting the elections.
According to election officials, 1,401,439 registered voters are eligible to vote in the 13 constituencies of Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber districts. The electorate comprises 725,118 male voters and 675,628 female voters.
A total of 2,454 polling stations have been established across Mirpur Division, including 597 in four constituencies of Mirpur district, 1,107 in six constituencies of Kotli district and 608 in three constituencies of Bhimber district.
Authorities said comprehensive security arrangements had been put in place for the elections.
AJK Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal warned that legal action would be taken against anyone attempting to disrupt the voting process.
Separately, AJK Chief Secretary Khushhal Khan said the people of Azad Kashmir had rejected “disruptive elements” and expressed confidence in the democratic process. He added that all state institutions were fully prepared to ensure peaceful elections and warned that the law would take its course against anyone attempting to obstruct the electoral process or disturb public order.
PPP slams PML-N
PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman condemned what she described as the PML-N’s attempts to make the Azad Kashmir elections controversial, alleging that the party was doing so out of fear of defeat.
She said the people of Kashmir were politically aware and capable of making their own decisions, adding that the relationship between the Kashmiri people and the PPP spanned many years.
Rehman questioned why the PML-N objected if the people of Kashmir wanted to vote for the PPP, asserting that the party could not snatch the public mandate through what she termed underhand tactics.
She maintained that regardless of the methods employed by the PML-N, victory would belong to the PPP.
PPP Information Secretary Shazia Marri said the people of Kashmir would deliver their verdict through the elections.
She described the PPP's arrow election symbol as a symbol of hope for the people of Mirpur and claimed that rival parties' camps were silent ahead of the vote.
In a video message alongside his sister Asifa Bhutto-Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari urged voters to come out and cast their ballots if they wanted Kashmir's future to be decided by the Kashmiri people.
He appealed to voters to stamp the PPP's arrow symbol and ensure the party's candidates were elected.
Separately, senior PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan expressed concerns over what he alleged was federal interference and the use of official resources in the Azad Kashmir elections.
He called for the polls to be conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner and urged the federal government and its machinery to refrain from any form of interference in the electoral process.
Ballot box set on fire
In LA-6 Bhimber, a clash broke out between workers of two political parties at the Darbar Baba Shadi Shaheed polling station.
PML-N candidate Abdul Razzaq Chaudhry alleged that workers of the rival party started the altercation. He also claimed that IPP workers created a disturbance at Polling Station No. 95.
According to Chaudhry, polling was suspended at both polling stations following the incidents.
The District Returning Officer (DRO) confirmed that a clash had been reported at a polling station in Darbar Baba Shadi Shaheed.
The DRO said miscreants snatched a ballot box and set it on fire, adding that the box contained 232 votes.
The returning officer and security personnel were present at the polling station, while legal action would be taken against those involved.
The DRO said a decision on whether re-polling would be held at the affected polling station would be made later. He added that the situation remained normal at all other polling stations.
The DRO further said that former prime minister Anwarul Haq had also lodged a complaint regarding LA-7. He said he personally visited the polling stations where complaints had been raised and that Anwarul Haq's polling agents were present there.
