The counting of votes is underway for the Legislative Assembly elections in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Sunday after the polling process was marred by violence.
The election was held at 45 seats in PoK and the polling time ended at 5 pm today, The News International reported.
Soon after polling ended, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry claimed an early victory for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the Pind Dadan Khan and Khewra tehsils.
He said that voter participation in the polls indicated that people took great interest in casting their vote and that they have expressed full confidence in the polling exercise.
Meanwhile, opposition parties slammed the PTI-led government for "rigging" the elections.
Senator Sherry Rehman, PPP's vice-president, blamed the Centre for "systematic rigging" and said it was attempting to "steal" the elections.
The PPP leader alleged PTI workers had fired on a PPP worker's car during polling time, while police had uprooted a camp belonging to her party.
Amid the elections, two PTI workers were killed by unidentified persons in a clash with Pakistan Peoples Party activists at a polling station in the Kotli district, as per Dawn.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb in a statement, claimed PTI "goons" had attacked her party's workers in Gujranwala's Alipur Chatha area to "rig" the election.
Aurangzeb said despite PTI workers beating up her party workers, the police "arrested those associated with PML-N". "PTI has been allowed to engage in hooliganism with complete liberty," she said.
The spokesperson alleged PoK Election Commission officials refused to accept PML-N's written complaints, saying they would accept them after permission from the chief election commissioner, reported Geo News.
"Complaints of violence and rigging do not meet the criteria for a transparent election," she stated.
"Women voters are being treated insultingly," she added and claimed that there are reports of votes being stamped inside the polling station with the help of staff.Last year, Pakistan had conducted the Legislative Assembly election in occupied Gilgit-Baltistan.The main opposition parties-- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP-- had termed the occupied Gilgit-Baltistan election rigged as the polls were in favour of Imran Khan's PTI party.
( With inputs from ANI )
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