Srinagar : Foreign diplomats from at least 15 countries visited the poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir to observe the second phase of Assembly elections on Wednesday. It was the first time India invited foreign diplomats to witness voting in the region, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. However, New Delhi had hosted similar trips on other high-profile occasions and a G20 meeting on tourism there last year.
More than 9 million voters are eligible to choose members for the region’s 90-seat legislature in the three-phase election, the second phase of which was underway on Wednesday.
The visitors included diplomats from embassies of the United States, Mexico, Singapore, Spain and South Korea, among others, news agency Reuters reported citing officials in Srinagar and New Delhi. They visited polling stations across the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.
“It is a rare opportunity to come to Kashmir and see the electoral process in action and see democracy. It looks very smooth, everything is very professional,” said Jorgan K Andrews, deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy.
Jammu and Kashmir has been at the centre of a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan since partition in 1947. Jammu and Kashmir had a special semi-autonomous status that was revoked by Modi’s government in August 2019. This was the first Assembly elections after the revocation of Article 370.
In the past, militants have targeted elections in Kashmir, and voter turnout has been largely weak. The territory, however, recorded its highest turnout in 35 years in national elections held in April and May, with a 58.46% participation rate.
Similar pictures were also witnessed in the first phase of the polling where the Election Commission said at least 61 per cent of the electors exercised their vote. Kishtwar district recorded the highest 80.14 per cent polling followed by Doda (71.34 per cent) and Ramban (70.55 per cent) in the Chenab Valley region of Jammu, the Election Commission said, quoting the latest information. In south Kashmir, Kulgam district led the turnout chart with 62.46 per cent followed by Anantnag district (57.84 per cent), Shopian district (55.96 per cent) and Pulwama district (46.65 per cent), the EC said.
In the 2014 assembly elections, the district-wise poll percentage was: Pulwama 44 per cent, Shopian 48 per cent, Kulgam 59 per cent, Anantnag 60 per cent, Ramban 70 per cent, Doda 73 per cent and Kishtwar 76 per cent.
In Kishtwar districts, he said, the Padder-Nagseni segment recorded the highest 80.67 per cent voting followed by Inderwal (80.06 per cent) and Kishtwar (78.11 per cent).
