The Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has confirmed to the BBC that elections have been postponed in seven constituencies of Rawalakot and Palandri, while polling in four constituencies will be held on August 10 as per their schedule.
According to the Chief Election Commissioner, the final decision regarding the constituencies to be postponed was taken after reviewing various requests and the ground situation.
It should be noted that the election contest has assumed special importance in three constituencies of Bagh district and one in Haveli district, where a current prime minister and two former prime ministers are in the fray.
On the other hand, a press release issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission said that the commission had received several requests regarding the overall situation in different areas, in which the elections were requested to be postponed.
According to the Election Commission, after reviewing the applications received and the information received from the relevant institutions, it was decided to postpone the election process in some constituencies, while polling in other constituencies will be held on August 10 as per the schedule.
The press release said that the commission is continuing to take steps in accordance with its constitutional and legal obligations to hold free, fair and transparent elections and all decisions are being taken keeping in mind the public interest and transparency of the election process.
The Election Commission has also appealed to voters, candidates and political parties to abide by the election code of conduct and cooperate in the election process.
It should be remembered that the state of Kashmir has been under lockdown for the past two months, the internet is down, the state is under siege by Pakistani forces, the Kashmiri people are affected by severe shortage of food and medicines due to the economic blockade, a serious humanitarian crisis has arisen.
Public sit-ins are ongoing in various areas to demand basic rights, more than 100 protesters have been killed by security forces and hundreds have been forcibly disappeared.
Taking advantage of this serious and unstable security situation, the Pakistani government is holding general elections to achieve its desired results. While the public has completely boycotted the elections.
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