Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has taken the lead in the results of the first phase of assembly elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). According to unofficial and preliminary results, PML-N has won 9 out of 13 seats in the first phase, while Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has won 4 seats. However, during the voting, incidents like violence, firing and burning of ballot boxes also took place at many places.
In the first phase, voting was held on 13 seats in Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber districts. Voting continued till 5 pm. After this, the voters who were already present at the polling station were given an additional hour of time to cast their vote. After this the counting of votes started.
Victory on these 9 seats
According to preliminary results, PML-N won the seats LA-1 Mirpur-1, LA-4 Mirpur-4, LA-5 Bhimber-1, LA-6 Bhimber-2, LA-7 Bhimber-3, LA-9 Kotli-2, LA-11 Kotli-4, LA-12 Kotli-5 and LA-13 Kotli-6. Whereas PPP won the seats LA-2 Mirpur-2, LA-3 Mirpur-3, LA-8 Kotli-1 and LA-10 Kotli-3.
During voting, firing took place at a polling booth in Nakayal area of LA-9 Kotli-2. One person died in this incident, while three people were injured. The police stopped the voting there for some time. The PPP claimed that the person killed was its party worker Mukhtar Yunus and that he was fired upon by PML-N supporters. However, this allegation has not been officially confirmed.
Bilawal Bhutto expressed grief over the incident
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed grief over the incident and expressed condolences to the family of the deceased. He said that elections should be completely fair and without controversy. He also said that the dispute over 12 refugee seats should have been resolved before the elections. According to him, if the elections are disputed then questions will also be raised on the mandate of the new government.
There was a clash between supporters of two political parties in LA-6 Bhimber. During this, some people snatched a ballot box and set it on fire. According to officials, there were 232 votes in that ballot box. After the incident, voting was stopped at two polling stations. The District Election Officer said that the matter is being investigated and legal action will be taken against the culprits. He also said that the decision to re-poll at the affected polling station will be taken later. According to officials, the situation remained normal at all other polling stations.
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