The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission formed a tribunal to address what it expects will be many complaints by candidates relating to the June 26 Legislative Assembly polls, even as it denied charges of rigging in the polls.
A spokesperson for the election commission said that the tribunal would be a faster mechanism for dealing with petitions likely to be filed by many of the losing candidates. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has already begun filing cases alleging rigging in the AJK elections and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) is reportedly considering a similar move.
However, even as it formed the tribunal, the Election Commission spokesperson denied that they had been involved in any vote rigging.“No incident of casting fake votes or any unlawful use of influence upon the polling staff was reported in any of the constituencies,” the spokesman said.
Several media outlets reported that there were significant irregularities in voting as well as pre-election campaigning, with several officials reported to be violating the law. It is unclear if any of those alleged violations were ever reported to the AJK Election Commission.
One of the key complaints about the election was the allegation that the voter list contained several bogus or fake entries. The spokesperson admitted that while there had initially been some problems, they had been addressed by the commission.
Full Article: AJK polls: Tribunal formed to address complaints – The Express Tribune.