The Election Commission has revised the schedule for the third phase of elections in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), saying no voting will take place in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts on August 10. It said that polling would only be held in Poonch Division’s Bagh and Haveli districts on August 10 amid concerns over the law-and-order situation.
Elections are underway across PoJK in which the third and final phase of voting was to be held in the entire Poonch division on 11 Legislative Assembly seats. However, due to several law and order problems due to clashes between Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) protesters and the authorities, polls will not be held in at least seven assembly segments, five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti districts now.
Violence, protests create law & order issues
The Election Commission made this announcement regarding revision of election schedule for third phase on Friday. Incidentally, polls in Mirpur and Muzaffarabad divisions of POJK were held in two rounds on July 27 and August 2, respectively. In fact, the elections for two seats in Muzaffarabad division were held on August 4, two days after the original schedule.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has repeatedly made allegations of massive rigging in both the phases held so far. Senior party leaders of PPP have also spoken about vote stealing and corrupt practices by Pakistan Muslim League-N. The allegations of rigging have led to a lot of bitterness between PML-N and PPP.
Incidentally, the third phase polling in Poonch division was set for August 10 as already stated. Poonch Division comprises 11 constituencies, three in Bagh, one in Haveli, five in Poonch and two in Sudhnoti district. However, the Election Commission said in a press release on Friday that the electoral process will go ahead as planned on August 10 in only the division’s Bagh and Haveli districts.
Rawalakot a no go area for forces now
In its press release, it said that polling will be held in the three constituencies of Bagh and one of Haveli on August 10 as per the previous schedule. However, the electoral process in the constituencies of Poonch district and Sudhnoti’s Pallandri will not be held on August 10, it said. The Election Commission said it reviewed the “current situation” regarding the scheduled elections in Poonch.
It noted that according to a report it received from the region’s Home Secretary, there were “concerns over the law and order situation in some areas of Poonch district and Pallandri district”.
“Moreover, the Election Commission received requests from some political personalities and candidates hailing from these districts, in which it has been requested to postpone the elections in Poonch district and Pallandri district considering the current situation,” the press release read.
The electoral watchdog said it will announce the new polling dates and a revised election schedule for Poonch and Pallandri after reviewing the situation and “considering all relevant matters”.
The commission clarified that the decision to postpone some of the polls was taken “only in the context of the current law and order situation to ensure that elections are held in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful environment”.
JAAC holds strong in Poonch Division
The decision comes in the wake of clashes that took place between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Poonch district’s Rawalakot on July 27, which at least 40 protesters were killed. Rawalakot has been gripped by unrest since early June, with the supporters of the JAAC refusing to bow before the authorities, despite it being declared a terrorist organisation and being proscribed under the relevant law.
The JAAC, which has been demanding the abolishment of 12 seats in the local legislature reserved for refugees from Indian-held Kashmir, has been holding protests in the region for several weeks now. The number of protests all across the region on JAAC calls are too many and difficult to count.
The government has accused militant elements “pursuing a foreign agenda and backed by Indian funding” of fomenting the unrest. There is zero proof provided in the public domain about these baseless allegations.
Earlier this week, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal said that the “law and order situation and the demands of the safety of voters play an important role in holding elections”. Responding to a question, he had said that under the region’s constitution, the current Legislative Assembly ceased to exist after August 4.
“Even if elections cannot be held in two or a few more constituencies, one cannot say that the House is not complete or those who have returned cannot take oath or perform their functions,” he explained. He said the new assembly would still take oath after the completion of the August 10 polls.
Meanwhile, PML-N leader and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah addressed a public gathering in Haveli on Friday. At the rally, he said his party had already won the required number of seats in the assembly and was all set to form the government.
He said 23 seats were required for a simple majority in the assembly, while the PML-N had already won 24 seats so far with contest for four seats scheduled for August 10. Sanaullah told the rally’s participants that the PML-N would focus on development in the region, which he said had been witnessed in the past every time the party was in the government in the Centre and the region at the same time.
