In Jammu and Kashmir to take stock of preparations for elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has said that no internal or external force can stop the Election Commission from conducting Assembly polls in the Union Territory. 

Addressing a press conference in Jammu on Friday, Mr Kumar said in Hindi, “The foundation laid by you (the people and the administration) is now awaiting the construction of a strong building. We have to achieve new heights and the time for that has come. If any internal or external force thinks that they can interfere and derail the Assembly elections, they are wrong. We are sure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will give a befitting response to disruptive forces.”

To a question on how the elections were being planned given that the Union Territory has seen an uptick in terror attacks and encounters in which many security personnel have also been killed, the Chief Election Commissioner used the chicken-and-egg analogy.

“We are working with full commitment and resolve that nothing will be allowed to disrupt the elections. If we don’t, it will become a chicken-and-egg situation. Whenever we will talk about elections, such activities will increase and we will be forced to step back. That will be like conceding defeat without even fighting. That won’t happen,” Mr Kumar asserted.

“These things will not have an impact on the elections at all. Our forces and the administration are capable enough to deal with any situation that arises. The flag of ‘jamhuriyat’ (democracy) has been raised and will be raised further,” he added.

‘Historic Achievement’

On the Commission’s meetings with political parties in Jammu and Kashmir since it arrived in the Union Territory on Thursday, Mr Kumar said they had spoken to national and recognised parties, all of whom had praised the people and the Election Commission for the way the Lok Sabha elections had been conducted there. 

The state had seen a voter turnout of 58.46%, which was the highest in 35 years, and Mr Kumar said all the parties had called that a “historic achievement”. 

“The parties said it had good participation and no violent incidents took place, which boosted people’s confidence. All the parties demanded that the Assembly polls be held at the earliest so that there are elected representatives in Jammu and Kashmir who have a better connect with local residents,” Mr Kumar said. 

Jammu and Kashmir has been without an elected government for over six years and the last Assembly elections were held there in December 2014. The Supreme Court has set a deadline of  September 30 for the Election Commission to hold Assembly polls in the erstwhile state, whose special status under Article 370 was removed and it was bifurcated into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party on June 23 reiterated its demand for Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja’s immediate resignation for failing to hold “free and fair” elections and protested against the “injustices” being committed against the party, according to media reports.

“Leaders of 71-year-old Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, along with other National Assembly members, led a protest rally from the Parliament to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the Constitution Avenue in Islamabad,” The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Led by Leader of Opposition and party leader Omar Ayub, the protesters demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Raja and election commission members for alleged poll rigging.

The controversial February 8 general elections in Pakistan were marred with massive rigging allegations. During the rally, Mr. Ayub called for the immediate resignation of CEC Raja and other members of the ECP, alleging that the only job of the Election Commission was to conduct clean and transparent polls, but it failed to fulfil its constitutional duty, The News International newspaper reported.

“The protesters were stopped from reaching the electoral body’s central office, as large contingents of security personnel were deployed outside the ECP building,” the report said. Slogans were also chanted for the release of party founder and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.

Mr. Khan has been incarcerated in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since September last year. He was shifted to this prison from the District Jail Attock, where he had been lodged after his arrest on August 5, 2023, following his conviction in the Toshakhana case.

Addressing the rally, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said, “The doors of courts have been closed on Opposition leaders; our women are in jail, and history will remember them.” He said that it was a matter of regret that all the Parliamentarians were coming out on the streets and protesting for the release of PTI founder Khan,” the report said.

“Today, we have come out against this injustice. Our voice is not being heard in this House (Parliament). Whatever we said in the House, our voice was silenced. We want the women’s release. This is a clear violation of human rights,” he said.

Addressing the protesters, the party’s central leader, Asad Qaiser, said, “On May 9, we were targeted on the pretext that we are not negotiating with anyone. Our voice is not heard in Parliament, which amounts to our gross abuse.”

After the controversial general elections, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party formed a coalition government after intense negotiations following a fractured poll verdict. Independent candidates – a majority backed by the PTI party – won 93 of the 265 National Assembly seats contested in the February 8 election.