Two presiding officers arrested in Kotli over rigging claims as Rana Sanaullah demands election halt

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Election Commission has suspended and arrested two presiding officers in Kotli after they were caught transporting polling materials to a private residence instead of their assigned polling station.

According to an election commission spokesperson, a returning officer intercepted the officers, seized the two polling bags, and appointed replacement presiding officers to ensure the voting process could continue at the station.

The commission confirmed that formal legal proceedings are underway against the arrested officials, emphasising that negligence or irregularities will not be tolerated and that strict measures remain in place to guarantee transparent elections.

Following the incident, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Rana Sanaullah demanded the immediate suspension of voting in the Kotli LA-10 constituency. Sanaullah urged the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir and the Chief Election Commissioner to launch an inquiry into the accused officials, named as Saqlain and Qaiser Patwari.

Calling for polls in LA-10 to be halted until the investigation concludes, Sanaullah insisted on determining where the polling bags were being taken, noting that AJK Peoples Party President Chaudhry Yasin is contesting the constituency.