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The PPP and the PML-N, coalition partners in the Centre, traded barbs on Tuesday after the conclusion of the first phase of elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s party alleging rigging in the polls and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz urging it to accept defeat.
The PML-N grabbed nine out of the 13 constituencies of AJK’s Mirpur division in yesterday’s elections, preliminary results issued by the Election Commission showed.
Polls in AJK are being held in three phases over security concerns, with the first set of polls held in Mirpur division on Monday. Scuffles, violence and allegations of rigging had marred the polling process, with the PML-N and PPP accusing each other of electoral malpractice.
In a televised statement, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz hailed the “outstanding victory” of the PML-N in the first phase of the AJK elections, urging the PPP to accept defeat.
