PPP Flags Polling Delays, Code Violations During PoJK Assembly Elections

Muzaffarabad: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) election cell in-charge Sardar Abdul Shakoor alleged delays in polling and reported electoral irregularities across several constituencies during voting for the PoJK Legislative Assembly, while the Election Commission deferred polling in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I because of heavy rainfall and landslides.

According to Shakoor, polling in LA-28 was delayed as polling personnel had not arrived at 71 polling stations by the scheduled opening time. He said a large number of voters were forced to wait, preventing them from exercising their right to vote. He urged the PoJK Election Commission, district administration and other concerned authorities to immediately deploy polling staff so that voting could commence without any further delay, according to The Express Tribune (TET).

In LA-29, Shakoor stated that polling personnel had failed to reach the majority of polling stations by the scheduled time, resulting in a delayed start to voting. He said the absence of polling staff was denying voters the opportunity to cast their ballots and could undermine the transparency and timely conduct of the election process. He called on the Election Commission and district authorities to ensure the prompt deployment of the remaining polling staff, TET reported.

Separately, the PoJK Election Commission announced that polling in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I had been postponed after heavy rain and landslides made it impossible to conduct voting. The Commission said several roads had been blocked, preventing polling staff and election materials from reaching polling stations on time despite efforts by the district administration to restore access, according to TET.

Shakoor also said polling personnel and election materials are generally dispatched on the night before polling day and questioned why political parties, candidates and the public had not been informed beforehand if weather conditions had made polling unfeasible.
He further argued that any postponement should have been restricted only to the affected polling stations instead of the entire constituency. He urged the Election Commission to release a detailed report specifying the roads affected, the polling stations impacted and the administrative measures taken.

In LA-31, Shakoor said polling staff had still not reached polling stations 74, 75 and polling stations 80 to 86 in Gahl village of Union Council Komi Kot, causing considerable delays and inconvenience for voters. He appealed to the Election Commission to ensure the immediate deployment of polling personnel.

He also said PPP candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar had submitted a written complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner over the closure of the Rangla-Katkair Road. According to the complaint, more than 50 vehicles carrying voters had remained stranded since the previous night, preventing many people from reaching their designated polling stations.

The PPP urged the authorities to reopen the road without delay, facilitate the safe movement of stranded voters to polling stations and investigate the circumstances surrounding the road closure, as cited by the TET report. In LA-34, Shakoor alleged that polling agents representing PPP candidate Colonel (Retd) Qadeer were not being allowed to take their assigned positions at polling stations in the Cantonment and Sheranwala Gate areas.

In LA-32, Shakoor said PPP candidate Ashfaq Zafar had filed a written complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner alleging two election-related irregularities. The complaint claimed that workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were illegally stamping ballot papers at Polling Station No. 24, and that a government employee identified as Nusrat was acting as a PML-N polling agent at another polling station in the constituency. The complaint described both actions as violations of the election code of conduct and the rules governing public servants, according to the TET report.

The PPP called on the Election Commission to immediately stop the alleged illegal activity, seize the ballot papers in question, remove the government employee from polling agent duties, investigate both allegations and initiate legal proceedings against those found responsible.

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