Now Reading: Pakistan ruling party leads PoK polls despite boycott call
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Pakistan ruling party leads PoK polls despite boycott call
Candidates backed by Pakistan’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N have won 24 of the 34 seats decided in the first two phases of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s legislative election, the regional election commission said. Voting…
The Story in Brief
Candidates backed by Pakistan’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N have won 24 of the 34 seats decided in the first two phases of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s legislative election, the regional election commission said. Voting for 11 remaining seats is scheduled for August 10, putting the party on course to return to power after a decade.
Turnout exceeded 50% in many areas, including Muzaffarabad, despite protests and a boycott campaign by the banned Joint Awami Action Committee. The three-phase election was arranged because of security concerns and heavy monsoon rains. The dispute centres on 12 reserved seats for people displaced from Indian-controlled Kashmir. The regional Supreme Court ruled in June that the seats cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment.
The Indian Opinion
The easy narrative is that a high turnout settles the legitimacy question, while the opposing claim is that the boycott makes the vote meaningless. Neither is sufficient. Voters did turn out despite clashes and threats, but the dispute over reserved seats remains unresolved, and the JAAC says representation is unfair. The real test will be whether the new assembly addresses that constitutional dispute without renewed violence before the August 10 vote.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
