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India-controlled Kashmir votes in the second phase of polls to elect local government

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Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Sayeeda Begum shows the indelible ink mark on her index finger after casting her vote in the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

SRINAGAR ā€“ Under elaborate security, residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir voted Wednesday in the second phase of a staggered election for a local government, which were not boycotted by separatists like last few elections.

It's the first such vote since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modiā€™s Hindu nationalist government scrapped the Muslim-majority regionā€™s semi-autonomy in 2019.

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ā€œOur first and foremost issue is restoration of (the regionā€™s) semi-autonomy and statehood. That is why I am voting,ā€ said Mehraj Ud Din Malik, a voter in the biggest regional city of Srinagar. ā€œOther developmental works will follow as they are our basic rights.ā€

The former state was downgraded and divided into two centrally governed union territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir. Both are ruled directly by New Delhi, allowing it to appoint administrators to run them along unelected bureaucrats and security setup. The region has since been on edge with civil liberties curbed and media gagged.

About 2.6 million residents were eligible for the second phase to elect 26 of the 239 candidates in the disputed region's six districts, where voters lined outside polling booths since early morning. Overall turnout was about 55%, the regionā€™s chief electoral office said.

Voting began Sept. 18 with about 59% turnout. There were no incidents reported from either phase.

For the first time in decades, separatists who challenge New Delhi's rule over Kashmir are not boycotting such local vote. They also did not boycott India's recent general election. Instead, some lower-ranking activists, who in the past dismissed polls as illegitimate under military occupation, are running for office as independent candidates. Polls in the past have been marred by violence, boycotts and vote-rigging, even though India called them a victory over separatism.

Except for Modiā€™s Bharatiya Janata Party, most parties contesting the election have campaigned on promises to reverse the 2019 changes and address key issues like rising unemployment and inflation. Indiaā€™s main opposition, the Congress party, which is running in alliance with Kashmirā€™s National Conference, also favors restorating the regionā€™s statehood.

The BJP has vowed to block any move aimed at undoing those changes but promised to help in the regionā€™s economic development.

Authorities erected checkpoints and laid razor wire in the voting districts as government forces wearing flak jackets and carrying assault rifles patrolled the constituencies.

The third phase is scheduled for Oct. 1 and votes will be counted on Oct. 8, with results expected that day.

Authorities have limited access of foreign media to polling stations and denied press credentials to most of the region's journalists working with international media, including The Associated Press, without citing any reason. New Delhi has barred foreign journalists from visiting and reporting from Kashmir without official approval.

On Wednesday, the Indian External Affairs Ministry took over a dozen foreign diplomats from New Delhi to visit polling stations in the Srinagar and Budgam districts.

A Singaporean diplomat, Alice Cheng, was quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency as being surprised at access provided to them. ā€œEven in Delhi, because of regulations, we would not typically walk into a polling station to see how people vote,ā€ she said, according to PTI.

Omar Abdullah, the regionā€™s former top elected official and the leader of the National Conference, criticized the visit, saying that the diplomats were ā€œguided tourists.ā€ He questioned why foreign journalists were not allowed to visit.

ā€œWhen foreign governments comment, then the government of India says this is an internal matter for India. Now suddenly they want foreign observers to come and look at our elections,ā€ Abdullah told reporters after casting his vote in Srinagar. He added that peopleā€™s participation in the polls was ā€œin spite of everything that the government of India didā€ in the region.

ā€œThey have humiliated people, they have used all the machinery of the government to detain and harass people,ā€ Abdullah said. ā€œSo, this is not something the government of India should be highlighting.ā€

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhiā€™s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebelsā€™ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

The multistage election will allow Kashmir to have its own truncated government and a local legislature, called an assembly, rather than being directly under New Delhiā€™s rule. However, there will be a limited transition of power from New Delhi to the local assembly as Kashmir will remain a ā€œUnion Territoryā€ ā€” directly controlled by the federal government ā€” with Indiaā€™s Parliament as its main legislator. Kashmirā€™s statehood must be restored for the new government to have powers similar to other states of India.

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Follow AP's Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific


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