AJK elections: Voting concludes in two constituencies as PPP again alleges rigging
pISLAMABAD: Voting in two AJK constituencies concluded on Tuesday after it could not be held on the scheduled date of Aug 2 during the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, as the PPP again alleged rigging./p pAuthorities had postponed polling in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I (Kutla) and at 71 of the 174 polling stations in LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II (Lachhrat) due to landslides and bad weather, which had resulted in blocked roads./p pElections in AJK are being held in a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2017254"three phases/a due to security concerns, with polling having been held on seven seats of Muzaffarabad division and 12 refugee seats reserved seats for refugees from India-occupied Kashmir on Sunday. In the third phase, elections will be held in 11 constituencies of Poonch division on August 10./p pThe first phase of polling was held in AJKs Mirpur division on July 27, in which the PML-N had secured nine of the 13 seats while the PPP won the remaining four./p pThe two parties, which are allies in Centre, have been engaged in a war of words since, with the PPP accusing the PML-N of rigging, violence and electoral malpractices./p h2a id"rigging-allegations" href"rigging-allegations" class"heading-permalink" aria-hidden"true" title"Permalink"/aRigging allegations/h2 pIt levelled the same allegations on Tuesday, with the party posting a complaint on its X account that it said it had sent to the Election Commission./p pIt claimed that polling staff had been caught red-handed with official ballot papers and polling bags inside the house of a PML-N supporter, approximately two kilometres from the designated polling site in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I (Kotla) in union council Bheri./p pThe PPP claimed it had concrete evidence that polling staff at polling station no.3 had moved to the residence of a PML-N candidate and abandoned their post./p blockquote class"twitter-tweet" lang"en" a href"https://twitter.com/PPP_Org/status/2084533908780298631"/a /blockquote pIt also shared a statement by PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman on X, with her saying that and the reports of the presence of polling staff at a PML-N supporters residence were concerning./p pShe said videos related to rigging by the PML-N had been handed over to the Election Commission as evidence and demanded immediate disciplinary and legal action./p blockquote class"twitter-tweet" lang"en" a href"https://twitter.com/MediaCellPPP/status/2084546112057139520"/a /blockquote pWhen Dawn asked Election Commission official Khawaja Muhammed Ahsan about the videos, he said a PPP worker had shared some videos, but they are vague and amount to a little more than unverified allegations./p pUnless the footage is authenticated through proper forensic examination and corroborated by other credible evidence, it cannot be treated as proof, he added./p pMeanwhile, the PPP shared another complaint addressed to the Election Commission on X. It accused the PML-N of ballot stuffing at polling stations no.95 and no.97 in LA-28 and of obstructing the polling process by barring voters from casting their votes./p blockquote class"twitter-tweet" lang"en" a href"https://twitter.com/PPP_Org/status/2084564191420268647/photo/1"/a /blockquote pThe PPP also alleged that at polling station no.92 in LA-27, the presiding officer was stuffing ballots and called for him to be replaced by someone neutral./p blockquote class"twitter-tweet" lang"en" a href"https://twitter.com/PPP_Org/status/2084565353913344229"/a /blockquote pIn yet another complaint, the PPP accused PML-N workers of firing in Bandi in LA-28 to terrorise the residents of Bandi and keep them inside their homes so that they do not proceed to the polling stations./p blockquote class"twitter-tweet" lang"en" a href"https://twitter.com/PPP_Org/status/2084569842087231688"/a /blockquote h2a id"tallal-chaudhry-tells-bilawal-to-show-grace-in-defeat" href"tallal-chaudhry-tells-bilawal-to-show-grace-in-defeat" class"heading-permalink" aria-hidden"true" title"Permalink"/aTallal Chaudhry tells Bilawal to show grace in defeat/h2 pMeanwhile, Minister of State for Interior and PML-Ns election coordinator for Poonch division, Tallal Chaudhry, rejected earlier allegations of rigging made by PPP in the AJK elections and took a swipe at PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, saying leaders should not cry over defeat, according to a statement issued by the interior ministry./p pPresiding over a review meeting on the third phase of AJK elections in Poonch division, Chaudhry said PML-Ns sweeping victory in the first two phases was a reflection of public trust in the performance of the federal and Punjab governments./p pThe people of Kashmir have voted for work and performance, he told district constituency coordinators and PML-N candidates from Poonch division who attended the meeting./p pSeemingly responding to PPPs allegations related to electoral malpractices, the minister said: Bilawal Bhutto should show a big heart. Leaders do not look good when they cry over defeat./p pHe added that the mandate given to PML-N in AJK showed that every part of Pakistan wants to become like Punjab in terms of development and governance./p pHe expressed confidence that the PML-N would secure a majority of seats in the third phase of the AJK elections./p pA day earlier, Bilawal had warned the PML-N that a countdown for it had begun and declared that his partys movement for peoples rights would extend to the entire country./p pIn a series of clips posted on X on Monday, Bilawal affirmed that his partys struggle for the peoples right to governance, ownership and employment will continue./p pThe PPP chairman said, And my message for the friends in PML-N is just this: you can hear that voice, listen carefully, tick tock, tick tock. Your countdown has begun./p pBilawal had given a a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2019507"similar warning/a last week to the federal government, which is led by the PML-N in alliance with his own PPP./p pSenior leaders of his party have made a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2020320/pm-shehbaz-congratulates-pml-n-after-party-maintains-lead-in-second-phase-of-ajk-polls::textFederal20govtE28099s20last20days20have20begun3A20Sharjeel"similar remarks/a in recent days, even a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2019220"alleging/a the PML-N of rigging in the 2024 general elections, which resulted in both parties being part of the current ruling coalition in the Centre. Both parties have also traded barbs over governance, a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2019925"political mandate/a and a href"https://www.dawn.com/news/2017892"provincial performance/a./p
Source: Dawn News
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