Healthy, democratic: Foreign envoys on J&K poll as Ph-II sees 56% turnout

With more than 56 per cent voters on Wednesday exercising their franchise in the second phase of polling for 26 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, a group of diplomats from 16 countries witnessed the electoral process.

The diplomats, invited by the Ministry of External Affairs, expressed satisfaction over the conduct of the elections, with some saying the process looks comparable to how it happens in their own countries.

70% polling in terror hotbeds

• Militancy-hit districts Reasi, Poonch, Rajouri witness 74.7%, 73.8% and 70.95% polling
• Kashmir’s Budgam, Ganderbal and Srinagar districts record 62.98%, 60.55% and 29.51% turnout

Lower than in 2014

• 20 of 26 segments, which voted on Wednesday, saw lower turnout than in 2014 when the overall polling was above 60%

Jorgan K Andrews, Deputy Chief of the Mission at the US Embassy in New Delhi, said the voting process looked healthy and democratic. “It is great to see the enthusiasm. It’s great to see Kashmiris coming out for voting after a pause for 10 years. We are very excited to see the results. It looks very healthy and very democratic,” Andrews said at a polling station here. He said the process was similar to how it happened in his country. “It is very comparable. In my country, we use schools as well for voting. So it looks very similar,” he added.

Besides Andrews, diplomats from Mexico, Guyana, South Korea, Somalia, Panama, Singapore, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Tanzania, Rwanda, Algeria and the Philippines were part of the delegation. They first visited a polling station at Ompora in Budgam and later, in Srinagar.

South Korean diplomat Sang Woo Lim liked the idea of “pink polling stations”, which are managed by all-female staff. Singapore’s Deputy Head of the Mission Cheng Wei Wei Alice said, “The process is similar to the one in Singapore. We use government buildings so that these are easily accessible to voters.”

Meanwhile, as per election officials, 56.05 per cent polling was recorded till evening, with militancy-hit Reasi witnessing the highest 74 per cent voting. Wednesday’s turnout was, however, less than that of the Phase-I, which saw 61 per cent polling. Chief Electoral Officer Pandurang K Pole said the polling was largely peaceful.

Three militancy-hit districts of the Jammu region — Reasi, Rajouri Poonch — saw people coming out in large numbers. Reasi saw 74.7 per cent polling, Poonch 73.8 per cent and Rajouri 70.95 per cent. Kashmir’s three districts, however, saw less voting than Jammu. Budgam registered 62.98 per cent turnout, Ganderbal, 60.55 per cent and Srinagar the lowest 29.51 per cent.

In Ganderbal where former CM Omar Abdullah is in the fray, people were seen waiting in long queues to cast their vote. “I decided to vote so that we have a legislator who can resolve our problems,” said Rashid Ahmad, a local resident.