PPP Threatens to Withdraw Support from PM Shehbaz Sharif Over Alleged Election Rigging

Relations between the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have strained further following the conclusion of the second phase of voting for nine seats in the Muzaffarabad division and 12 refugee seats. The PPP, which provides outside support to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government in Islamabad, has threatened to withdraw its backing due to allegations of widespread rigging during the polling phases held on July 27 and August 2.

The second phase of the elections saw polling in eight of the nine constituencies in the Muzaffarabad division and all 12 refugee constituencies. Voting began at 8:00 AM and concluded at 5:00 PM for the refugee seats, while the voting process in Muzaffarabad was extended by one hour, ending at 6:00 PM.

Electoral Demographics and Postponements

Voting for one assembly segment, LA-27 (Muzaffarabad-I), was postponed by Chief Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal due to heavy rains and landslides that cut off several roads. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticized the election authorities for the postponement, arguing that polling should have been suspended only in the specific areas where communication was directly affected.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 207 candidates contested the nine constituencies in the Muzaffarabad division, which includes five seats in the Muzaffarabad district and two seats each in the Neelum and Jhelum Valley districts. An additional 137 candidates contested the 12 refugee constituencies, which consist of six seats representing refugees from the Kashmir Valley and six representing refugees from Jammu.

The Muzaffarabad division has 809,621 registered voters, while the 12 refugee constituencies have a combined electorate of 438,834. This averages approximately 90,000 voters per assembly segment in Muzaffarabad, compared to an average of 36,000 voters for the refugee seats. Among the refugee seats, constituencies for the Kashmir Valley have fewer than 10,000 voters each, whereas the Jammu region's assembly seats average approximately 50,000 voters per segment.

The geographical distribution of the 12 refugee seats spans multiple regions: seven seats are located in Punjab, one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one (Jammu-VI) is divided among Punjab, Islamabad, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Additionally, one seat (Valley-I) is divided between Sindh and Balochistan, one (Jammu-I) is shared among refugees in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh, and the Valley-V seat is divided between Punjab and Islamabad.

PML-N Leadership Holds Consultations

In response to the growing political rift, PML-N leaders held a meeting at the Jati Umra residence of Mian Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of the Prime Minister. A statement from his office confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held consultations with Nawaz Sharif to discuss evolving political challenges, including the dispute with the PPP over the elections.

The PML-N leadership has reportedly taken serious note of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's increasingly combative rhetoric against the Sharif family and his warning that the PPP may reconsider its support for the federal government.

Allegations of Violence and Rigging

Following the close of polling, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari accused the PML-N of "robbing" votes during the second phase of polling, repeating allegations made during the first phase in the Mirpur division. In a social media post, the PPP chairman condemned an attack on the party’s regional president, Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who is a candidate for LA-31 (Muzaffarabad-V).

Bilawal alleged that "miscreant elements of the PML-N" were behind the incident and reported that PPP worker Mushtaq Shah was killed in the same constituency. He claimed that the PML-N was "robbing the votes through bullets, batons and coercion," and demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for the attack and the killing.

Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, who belongs to the PPP, ordered senior officials to take action against those responsible for the irregularities, describing the attacks on PPP voters and leaders as "a slap on the politics of dignity and principle."

Prior to the elections, internet services were restored in parts of the Muzaffarabad division after a suspension lasting nearly 60 days, though it remained unclear if the restoration extended beyond the state capital.

Official Complaints and Political Fallout

Shortly after voting began, several PPP leaders alleged electoral malpractices, claiming that their polling agents were barred from observing the voting process. At 2:00 PM, the PPP formally wrote to the Election Commission, submitting 25 complaints regarding 11 assembly constituencies. The party accused PML-N supporters of ballot stuffing, bogus voting, and the deliberate exclusion of PPP oversight representatives.

The PML-N responded with its own letter to the Election Commission, dismissing the PPP's allegations as "baseless" and describing them as an attempt to create unnecessary controversy. Confrontations were also reported between supporters of PML-N candidate Raja Farooq Haider and PPP supporters at certain polling stations.

Kashmir Affairs Minister Amir Muqam of the PML-N urged political parties to avoid a "blame game," stating during a press conference in Islamabad that law enforcement personnel were deployed to maintain security and that seat allocation is determined by public votes.

Conversely, PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan stated that the Election Commission had failed to ensure a free and fair process. He warned that the situation could lead to an "ultra Form-47 election," referring to a scenario where losing candidates are declared winners through manipulation by returning officers. Chan noted that while the PPP leadership had previously rejected a boycott of the second and third phases, further escalation could force the party to take drastic steps.

To defuse the situation, senior leaders from both parties have met multiple times to explore a legal resolution. PML-N representatives reportedly told their PPP counterparts that the incidents were isolated acts of local dominance rather than pre-planned, systematic rigging.