AJK polls today, MQM boycotts

As all but three constituencies of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly go to polls today (Sunday), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement announced to boycott the election to protest the postponement of election in the three constituencies. Polling in LA-30, LA-36 and LA-41 has been postponed by the Interior Ministry owing to security precautions. A ministry spokesman said the three constituencies, falling in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, were large and maintaining peace there was difficult. He said law and order in Karachi needed to be improved before polling could be conducted there. However, the MQM Rabita Committee rejected the reason for the deferral, with Deputy Convener Dr Farooq Sattar saying it was unconstitutional to postpone
polling on three constitutional seats.
He said the PPP was pressurising the MQM to withdraw candidates from the seats and the government had postponed the polling after MQM refused to withdraw their nominees.
Sattar said the interior minister was among several personalities that had tried to influence the MQM. He said the party had informed the prime minister and president about the situation, “but the intention of the government is not fair”.
Meanwhile, the stage in AJK is set for polling for 38 seats, but experts said no party was likely to get landslide victory in the election.
Per the final list issued by the AJK Election Commission, the total electorate was 3,017,816 and 5,559 polling stations and 6,448 booths had been established for polling.
The AJK Election Commission said around 4,351 presiding officers, 6,448 polling officers and 12,896 polling assistants had also been appointed to supervise the balloting. Around 10,000 troops would be deployed to maintain peace during the polling.
Experts said the election was likely to be tougher this time and predicted a close contest in constituencies of all prominent leaders, like Muslim Conference chief and AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Khan, AJK People’s Party (AJKPP) President Khalid Ibrahim, and PPP AJK President Chaudhry Majeed.
Still, PPP was likely to emerge as the largest party in the election but would need allies to form a government.
According to political pundits, the position of PPP AJK President Majeed had improved after Muslim Conference withdrew its candidate against him. Moreover, PML-N AJK President Raja Farooq Haider was in trouble in one of the two constituencies he was contesting from – LA-22 Hattain Bala and LA-26 Muzaffarabad.
He is likely to win election from his native constituency LA-22, but faces a tough competition in LA-26 against Usman Attique, son of the AJK prime minister.
It is believed that Usman was fielded to help PPP’s Khawaja Farooq Ahmed win in the constituency.
An tough fight is also expected in LA-3 Bagh, the ancestral constituency of Sardar Attique, who faces Jamaat-e-Islami’s PML-N backed candidate Major (r) Lateef Khaliq.
Another hard battle is likely in LA-19 Poonch constituency between PPP’s Sardar Yaqoob, JI’s Sardar Aijaz Afzal and Khalid Ibrahim of the People’s Jammu Kashmir.
Mirpur district is considered a PPP stronghold and PPP-backed former AJK prime minister Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry is likely to sweep the polls in LA-3 Mirpur.
Barrister Sultan is likely to be the candidate for the prime minister’s slot if he wins the election.
It is expected that the PPP will get 14 to 16 seats, the PML-N eight to 10 and the Muslim Conference four to six seats in today’s election.