ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Polling for government employees assigned election duties in the general election concluded peacefully in all constituencies in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), except in Sudhanoti and Poonch districts, on Monday.
As per details, around 30,000 government employees cast their ballots at polling stations established in the offices of District Returning Officers in eight districts.
Meanwhile, police and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel remained deployed to ensure security throughout the polling process.
Earlier, the Election Commission postponed the polling for employees in six of the seven constituencies of Poonch and Sudhanoti due to security reasons for an unspecified period.
Addressing the media today, Member of the Election Commission Syed Nazir-ul-Hassan Gilani said that the schedule for these constituencies will also be announced in the next two days.
Talking about the counting of votes, he stated that ballot boxes from today’s polling would be sealed and handed over to returning officers and that the counting would be held on July 27 alongside votes cast in the general election.
Earlier today, Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, along with Senior Member Khawaja Muhammad Ahsan, Member Syed Nazir-ul-Hasan Gilani, and Secretary Raja Muhammad Shakeel Khan, visited several polling stations in Muzaffarabad to inspect voting and security arrangements.
They visited polling stations established in Ali Akbar Awan High School, Saheli Sarkar School, University Campus Chehla Bandi, and Degree College in the capital, Muzaffarabad.
Speaking to the media on this occasion, the Chief Election Commissioner said that the polling phase of the employees assigned election duties has been completed peacefully across the AJK.
He reiterated that the general elections in the state will be held as scheduled on July 27, adding that all administrative and security arrangements had been finalised.
“Under no circumstances will the election process be sabotaged. Comprehensive security measures have been made,” he said.
Member Nazir-ul-Hassan Gilani said that satisfactory arrangements have been made for the polling of the employees performing election duty, adding that polling staff, polling agents, and voters expressed satisfaction.
