By Mubasher Bukhari
LAHORE, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The third round of regional elections in Pakistan-administered Kashmir was marred by delays and security concerns on Monday, weeks after deadly protests erupted in the region and authorities imposed sweeping restrictions.
Clashes in the region have led to road closures and an internet blackout, posing a sensitive challenge for Pakistan, which frequently criticises New Delhi's handling of dissent in Indian-administered Kashmir but is now facing anger in the territory under its own control.
Monday's vote was supposed to be the final of three election rounds. But authorities postponed polls in seven of the 11 remaining constituencies late last week to an undetermined date "after reviewing a report about the law-and-order situation," Raja Shakeel, a local Election Commission official, told Reuters in a phone interview.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League (N) has already won 24 of the 34 seats contested in earlier rounds of voting and is on course to form the regional government.
But it has faced accusations of rigging, including by chief competitor the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The two parties have been allied on the national stage since 2024 and disputes in Kashmir have the potential to erode their fragile coalition.
"Polling in many voting places was delayed," Hassan Murtaza, a PPP leader, said, citing it as an indication of electoral fraud.
Rana Sanaullah, a PML-N leader, rejected the accusations as "baseless," adding that the PML-N "will form a government."
Candidates affiliated with the party that won the previous elections five years ago, jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have boycotted the polls over allegations of rigging.
VIOLENT PROTESTS
Protests in the region have turned deadly in recent weeks. After the first round of voting in late July, leaders of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) said more than 30 people had been killed around one town, Rawalakot, in clashes with security forces.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the death toll. Road and internet access to the town remains largely cut off.
The JAAC has rallied its supporters against longstanding electoral rules in the region and was banned by the regional government in June.
Twelve of the 45 directly elected seats in the local legislative assembly are reserved for constituencies representing what the regional constitution defines as refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir. But these seats have often been filled by people living outside the region, and the JAAC has accused Islamabad of using them to manipulate local politics — accusations Pakistani government officials have rejected.
(Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari; editing by Rick Noack and Saad Sayeed)
