PPP alleges rigging after delayed voting in two AJK areas

Polling concluded on Tuesday, August 4, in two constituencies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir where voting had been postponed from August 2 due to landslides and adverse weather. The elections were immediately clouded by serious allegations of rigging from the Pakistan Peoples Party, which the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and election officials have firmly rejected.

Voting was held in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I Kotla and at 71 of 174 polling stations in LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II Lachhrat after blocked roads were cleared. These contests were part of the second phase of the AJK legislative assembly elections, which are being conducted in three phases due to security concerns. The final phase, covering 11 constituencies in Poonch division, is scheduled for August 10.

The PPP lodged multiple formal complaints with the AJK Election Commission. Central to the allegations was a claim that polling staff in LA-27 were found with official ballot papers and polling bags inside the residence of a PML-N supporter, approximately two kilometers from a designated polling site. The party also alleged that staff from one polling station had abandoned their post to operate from a PML-N candidate's house.