Second phase of AJK polls: Bilawal hopes for 'fairness' as PPP alleges electoral malpractices

The second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections began on Sunday morning. Polling is being held in nine constituencies of Muzaffarabad division and all 12 refugee constituencies. Polling started at 8am and will continue without interruption till 5pm. Over 300 candidates are vying for nine Muzaffarabad seats and 12 seats for refugees settled in different regions. ‘Admission of rigging’ Polls in AJK are being held in three phases over security concerns, with the first set of polls held in Mirpur division on July 27. Scuffles, violence and allegations of rigging had marred the polling process, with the PML-N and PPP accusing each other of electoral malpractice. The PPP and the PML-N — coalition partners in the Centre — have been engaged in a war of words since the PML-N emerged in the lead during the first phase of polls. The PPP has accused the PML-N of rigging in Mirpur and demanded re-polling. To defuse the tensions, senior leaders of both parties met multiple times in Azad Kashmir over the weekend to “explore a legal resolution” to the dispute. The latest round of talks followed two earlier meetings on Thursday and Friday. A PML-N source told Dawn that discussions focused on the PPP’s allegations and its demand for re-polling in certain constituencies. “It was not planned or pre-planned rigging but isolated acts at places where supporters of one candidate enjoyed numerical dominance over their opponents. Such incidents have unfortunately been part of the territory’s polling atmosphere and have also been witnessed in previous elections,” the source quoted the PML-N leaders as telling their counterparts. Referring to this statement in a X post on Sunday, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said: “Despite this admission from the rigging party, the ECP has still failed to take action on our complaints from phase 1. Had they done so, the credibility of today’s phase 2 election would have been restored. “The PPP reserves the right to protest and demand re-election in phases where rigging took place, and the election commission failed to act. We have already sent multiple written complaints about ballot stuffing and illegal removal of our polling agents in today’s election. It is hoped the election commission acts swiftly and at least maintains fairness in round 2.”

According to the sources, during meetings with the PML-N, PPP initially raised objections to the results in four constituencies — Charhoi, Sehnsa and Nakyal in Kotli district, and Barnala in Bhimber district during phase-I of the election. However, it later withdrew its allegations regarding Sehnsa and Barnala. Saturday’s discussions centred on Charhoi, where PPP AJK president Chaudhry Yasin lost to PML-N’s Raja Riasat, and Nakyal, where PPP candidate Javed Iqbal Budhanvi was defeated by PML-N’s Raja Ayaz Ahmed. Meanwhile, the Sharif family also held discussions at Jati Umra. According to a statement issued by the PM’s Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held consultations with his elder brother and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif at Jati Umra to take stock of mounting political challenges, including the rift with the PPP over the AJK elections. A senior PML-N leader told Dawn that the party leadership had taken serious note of the PPP chairman’s increasingly combative rhetoric against the Sharif family over the AJK polls and his warning that the PPP could reconsider its support for the federal government if the remaining phases of the elections were manipulated in favour of the PML-N. PPP alleges electoral malpractices On Sunday, the PPP continued to allege electoral malpractices as polling commenced in Muzaffarabad. The party alleged that its polling agents were not being allowed to sit at polling stations in LA-34 in Cantonment and Sheranwala Gate, calling on the Election Commission to intervene. Sardar Abdul Shakoor, the in-charge of the PPP’s AJK election cell, said the agents were being excluded due to them not being from the “local area”. He demanded that the Election Commission take notice of the incident and allow the PPP’s agents to perform their duties.

The PPP also alleged that its polling agents were barred from entering the polling station in Janabad, Sargodha, over which a written complaint had been sent to the Election Commission. In a separate statement in the morning, the party quoted Shakoor as claiming that no polling staff was present at any of the 196 polling stations in LA-27, adding that this raised the concern that there was a “deliberate” attempt to delay the polling. Similarly, the party alleged, polling staff had reached late at 71 polling stations of LA-28, due to which the polling process was facing delays. The PPP claimed that a similar situation was being witnessed at several polling stations of LA-30, where polling staff had not arrived on time. Regarding LA-31, the party said Shakoor had sent a written complaint to the Election Commission on behalf of its candidate contesting from the constituency, Chaudhry Latif Akbar. The party said the Election Commission was asked to take action over difficulties faced by voters due to the closure of the Rangla-Katkair Road in Muzafarrabad. The party said over 50 vehicles carrying voters were stuck due to the road’s closure. Election numbers According to the AJK Election Commission, 207 candidates are in the fray for the nine constituencies in Muzaffarabad division, comprising five seats in Muzaffarabad district and two each in Neelum and Jhelum Valley districts. Another 137 candidates are contesting the 12 refugee constituencies, including six seats representing refugees from the Kashmir Valley and six from Jammu. A total of 809,621 voters are registered in Muzaffarabad division, while the 12 refugee constituencies have a combined electorate of 438,834. According to the commission, 1,483 polling stations have been established across Muzaffarabad division, of which 533 have been declared highly sensitive, 741 sensitive and 209 normal. Another 1,057 polling stations have been set up for the 12 refugee constituencies. Out of 12 refugee seats, seven seats are in Punjab, one seat is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one seat (Jammu-VI) is divided between Pun­jab, Islamabad, and Khyber Pakhtun­khwa, one seat is divided between Sindh and Balo­chistan (Valley-I), and one seat (Jammu-I) is shared among refugees living in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh. Valley-V seat is divided between Punjab and Islamabad. In Rawalpindi and Islamabad, about 27,000 registered male and female voters will elect lawmakers for LA-43 (Valley-IV), LA-44 (Valley-V), and LA-39 (Jammu-VI) seats. A total of 175 polling stations have been established, out of which 18 polling stations in Rawalpindi have been declared sensitive. A total of 34 candidates are in the fray. In Gujrat, almost 2,000 policemen will perform security duties at scores of polling stations for the LA-38 elections. The total number of polling stations in these districts is 115, with 75 in Gujrat, 24 in Wazirabad and 16 in Mandi Bahauddin. The total number of voters is 50,225 in the entire constituency. As many as 11 candidates are contesting this seat. In Sindh, officials said the elections will be conducted on LA-34 (Jammu-I) and LA-40 (Kashmir Valley-I) with polling stations established across Karachi and other districts of Sindh. In LA-34 (Jammu-I), a total of 17 candidates are contesting the election, which has 698 registered voters in Karachi’s seven districts and 477 voters in 13 other districts of Sindh. For LA-40 Kashmir (Valley-I), 11 candidates are in the race. The constituency has 4,200 registered voters in Karachi and 403 voters in 17 other districts of Sindh. In Balochistan, seven polling booths have been established across the province for the Kashmir Valley-I constituency, where 1,174 registered voters are expected to cast their ballots. Balochistan shares this seat with Sindh. For the Jammu-I constituency, six polling booths have been set up, with a total of 182 registered voters, including 85 men and 97 women, eligible to vote. Polling stations have been established for AJK refugee voters residing in Balochistan at various locations, including Quetta, Pishin, Qila Saifullah, Hub, Loralai, Sibi, Mastung, Zhob and Barkhan. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 41 polling stations, mostly in Swat and Mansehra, have been set up for the LA-45 (Kashmir VI) seat.