The third phase of elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was held on Monday in four constituencies, amid violence and allegations of rigging, while elections in seven constituencies have been indefinitely postponed.
Clashes between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers were reported in some areas. The region’s Election Commission had classified most of the 803 polling stations in the four constituencies as “sensitive or highly sensitive”.
The Election Commission postponed polling in seven seats in the Poonch Division in the third and final phase “due to concerns over the law and order situation”.
India maintains that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of the country and that Pakistan is in “illegal and forcible occupation” of parts of these territories.The first two phases of polling were held on July 27 and August 2 and were also marked by violent protests and allegations of rigging. The establishment-backed PML-N won 24 of the 34 seats contested in the two phases, while its coalition partner at the Centre, the PPP, won 10 seats.
Polling is being held for a total of 45 seats. The PML-N is set to form the government in the region, with the party saying its supremo Nawaz Sharif will nominate the candidate for the prime minister’s post.
The PPP has alleged widespread rigging by the PML-N during the third phase. In a series of posts on X, the party claimed that roads leading to the Banni Marasira area were blocked and alleged that PML-N supporters were stamping ballot papers at several polling stations.
"The officials, voters, polling agents and party workers are unable to reach the polling stations to see what is being done inside," the PPP said, adding that polling did not begin on time at some stations because polling staff had not arrived.
The PPP also alleged that its polling agents were forcibly removed from some stations where PML-N supporters were allegedly stamping ballot papers. It also posted a video purportedly showing PML-N workers attacking a polling station at a school in LA-15 Central Bagh.
Earlier phases of the election were also marred by violence, rigging allegations and clashes.
Meanwhile, a large number of people under the banner of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) have been protesting in PoK since early June. The regional government banned the group in June.
The JAAC has demanded the abolition of 12 refugee seats in PoK, alleging that the establishment uses these seats to install a prime minister of its choice.
The protests led to a crackdown by security forces in which dozens of people were killed. The JAAC has claimed that around 400 protesters have been killed since the first week of June and that more than 40 people were killed during the first phase of polling on July 27.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s adviser Rana Sanaullah, however, has put the number of protesters killed in the violence in “double figures”.
