PPP files complaints with EC over alleged irregularities
Islamabad/ Muzaffarabad
Opposition parties on Sunday slammed the PTI-led government for “rigging” in the ongoing Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections.
Senator Sherry Rehman, PPP’s vice-president, blamed the Centre for “systematic rigging” and said it was attempting to “steal” the elections.
The PPP leader alleged PTI workers had fired on a PPP worker’s car during polling time, while police had uprooted a camp belonging to her party.
“There is a clear difference between the voter lists of several polling stations […] PPP has submitted a written complaint to the AJK Election Commission,” she said.
Meanwhile, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, in a statement, claimed PTI “goons” had attacked her party’s workers in Gujranwala’s Alipur Chattha area to “rig” the election.
Aurangzeb said despite PTI workers beating up her party workers, the police “arrested those associated with PML-N”. “PTI has been allowed to engage in hooliganism with complete liberty,” she said.
The spokesperson alleged AJK Election Commission officials refused to accept PML-N’s written complaints, saying they would accept them after permission from the chief election commissioner.
“Complaints of violence and rigging do not meet the criteria for a transparent election,” she added.
PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb also condemned the arrests of some PML-N workers by police and criticised the AJK Election Commission for allegedly refusing to accept the party’s applications regarding rigging complaints.
Aurangzeb had earlier drawn attention to what she had termed as “irregularities” being reported from various constituencies.
“Complaints of polling agents being prevented from entering polling stations and closure of polling are increasing,” she said in a statement.
She claimed that polling has been stalled for two hours at Girls Primary School Kangarhariwala, Union Council Komi Kot.
“Women voters are being treated insultingly,” she added and claimed that there are reports of votes being stamped inside the polling station with the help of staff.
No polling agent was allowed to enter LA-32 Chakar, LA-33 Goharabad except that of PTI, she further claimed.
“The tactics of 2018 and Daska elections are being repeated openly,” Marriyum said, adding: “If any untoward situation arises then Imran sahib will be responsible,” she said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party has filed a written complaint with Azad Kashmir Election Commission and asked it to take strict action as per the law against those involved in the irregularities.
PPP has alleged that its camp situated 400 meters from polling station 20 of LA-44 was uprooted by PTI workers with the help of police while PTI camp is situated only 200 meters from polling station.
PPP further alleged that Police on duty at polling station 3 of LA 44 is telling voters where to vote and where not to vote.
PML-N leader Raja Farooq Haider Khan wrote a letter to the AJK chief election commissioner, complaining that some “miscreants” were harming the peaceful polling environment through violence at a polling station in the LA-32 constituency in order to prevent his party’s supporters from voting.
He said workers from an “opposition party” were openly displaying firearms, and alleged that some Rangers personnel deployed at the polling station were “encouraging voters to vote for their favourite opposition party”.
The PPP also complained to the AJK Election Commission, alleging that PTI workers were using force to influence the voting process.
In a letter addressed to the election commission’s secretary, PPP’s Central Election Cell incharge Taj Haider said that the chief polling agent for the LA-30 constituency was arrested “immediately after the start of polling in order to influence the election of our candidate”.
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