PML-N leader shares marked ballot paper photo; PPP opposes poll postponement 

Fresh controversy has emerged during the second phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections after a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader shared a photograph of a marked ballot paper on social media, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) raised further concerns over alleged irregularities in the polling process on Sunday.

According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the ballot paper, shared by PML-N leader Abid Raza Kotla, was reportedly from constituency LA-38 Jammu-V. Election rules prohibit voters from taking mobile phones into polling stations, and the circulation of a photograph showing a marked ballot has raised questions over compliance with the election code of conduct.

In a separate development, Sardar Abdul Shakoor, head of the Pakistan Peoples Party AJK Election Cell, alleged that PPP polling agents were being prevented from taking their assigned positions at polling stations in constituency LA-34. He called on the Election Commission to intervene immediately and ensure that polling agents were allowed to perform their duties.

Sardar Abdul Shakoor also expressed strong reservations over the Election Commission's decision to postpone polling in constituency LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I. He argued that it was difficult to believe that every one of the constituency's 196 polling stations had become inaccessible at the same time because of fallen trees or landslides.

He said election staff and polling materials are normally dispatched to polling stations on the night before polling day and questioned why political parties, candidates and the public had not been informed in advance if weather conditions were expected to prevent voting.

According to Abdul Shakoor, if only certain roads or areas had been affected by bad weather, the Election Commission could have postponed polling at those specific locations instead of suspending voting across the entire constituency.

The PPP leader called on the Election Commission to make public a detailed report explaining the reasons for the postponement, including information on the affected roads, polling stations and administrative measures taken, so that the public could understand why polling throughout the entire constituency had been delayed.

Reporter: Rana Shehzad