[Reader-list] "Voters in Kashmir defy winter chill, separatists" (Kashmir Polls - first reports)

[Shivam V]

The voter turnout numbers in these reports are abysmal, and yet the
headline creates a false impression that the polling was successful.
If in Sonawari only 12% turned out to vote, that means 88% did not
vote.

Anyway, here's somehing interesting:



Dawn, 15 November 2008

A MARRIAGE IS ARRANGED

by A.G. Noorani

THE annals of rigged elections in Kashmir provide no precedent for the
polls that will begin there on Nov 17. Even the Unionist parties, the
National Conference and the People's Democratic Party, are opposed to
them.

The Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami admitted on Oct 10 that
"we have taken a risk", adding, "If the political parties are not
ready, then how can we conduct elections now?"

The right to advocate a boycott of elections is as integral a part of
the democratic process as is the right to vote. He conceded that the
political parties "can call a boycott" provided they did not use
force. This right has been systematically denied by New Delhi through
the arrests of leaders like Shabbir Shah, house arrests of Syed Ali
Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and curfews and arrests of
activists to prevent peaceful rallies and processions.

The president of the PDP, Mehbooba Mufti, said on Nov 10: "The polls
have been thrust on the people and the PDP." In the valley, which has
46 of the 87 seats, public opinion is inflamed after the upheaval
there and in Jammu in August. "Public meetings cannot be held in the
manner they used to. The people are not coming out."

The NC's president, Omar Abdullah, said: "The timing is not ideal for
elections. We had said this to the Election Commission and in our
statements". Why then did the EC go ahead and why did the NC decide to
participate in the polls?

The EC obeyed the wishes of elements in the Government of India who
felt that a change was necessary. In 2002 the NC was ditched in favour
of the PDP. In 2008 the roles are reversed. Farooq Abdullah, the NC's
patron, did not contest the polls then. He will do so now. But he
revealed, on Oct 28, that "Omar will finally take over charge." The
confidence that he will, indeed, become chief minister is a giveaway.

The game plan was revealed on July 9 by A.S. Dulat, a former RAW chief
and for long an adviser on Kashmir affairs. "If I have to bet on
anybody as the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, then I will
bet on Omar Abdullah, because only the mainstream parties are going to
fight the elections and the National Conference has an edge."

No wonder the PDP's president Mehbooba Mufti said on Oct 28 "an
impression is being created that New Delhi has decided to select the
National Conference for governance". She added: "We won't give a free
hand to the parties claiming victory in advance".

The manifestos of the two parties on the state's governance are
revealing. Unprecedentedly Farooq Abdullah has asserted emphatically
that the polls concern issues of governance alone. The solution to the
Kashmir dispute lies in the dialogue between India and Pakistan, he
said, while releasing the NC's 'Vision document' on Oct 31.

The PDP published two documents on Oct 28. An 'Election manifesto —
2008 make 'self-rule' happen' and 'Jammu & Kashmir: the self-rule
framework for resolution'. The two overlap. The NC had spelled out its
views in detail in 1999 in the 'Report of the state autonomy
committee'. As Kashmiri contributions to the debate, the rival
documents on autonomy merit analysis later. We are here concerned with
their views on governance.

The most striking thing about them is their studied restraint on some
issues that vex the people, e.g. discrimination in the services. "No
commissioner or secretary in the state government is a Muslim," The
Hindustan Times reported on Aug 17. "There have been only two Muslim
DGPs — ever." Most top police posts are with non-Muslims. Most senior
civil servants and police officers are Hindu. Here is an issue on
which the PDP and the NC could have gone to town legitimately without
compromising their stand on Kashmir's accession to India. But neither
risks annoying New Delhi. The same holds good for torture, release of
detainees, withdrawal of the army from prized lands, including
orchards, etc.

Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah consistently wrecked the centre's moves
for a rapprochement with the Hurriyat made by three successive prime
ministers as Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed supported them. The
PDP seeks to balance support to the Union with espousal of some
Kashmiri causes.

The NC's vision document makes promises on panchayati raj,
rehabilitation of militancy affected people, planning, unemployment,
power, tourism, agriculture, horticulture, women empowerment, and
'balanced development'. Its emphasis is on 'good governance'. Much the
same ground is covered in the PDP's manifesto. Its emphasis is on its
'governance and development agenda'; but in the context of
'self-rule'.

Elections are little affected by words alone. Perceptions are
decisive. On May 2, 2003 the state's former deputy chief minister,
Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, belonging to the PDP, revealed that he had
told the centre's interlocutor N.N. Vohra that "the Government of
India has always been purchasing the leaders of the State. That can be
done even today." A former governor B.K. Nehru noted in his memoirs
Nice Guys Finish Second that the CMs "had been nominees of Delhi" who
won power "by the holding of farcical and totally rigged elections".

Today N.N. Vohra is governor. For the Abdullahs it is now or never.
Defeat spells oblivion. Yet, victory will earn added disrepute. New
Delhi will have to talk the Hurriyat and to Pakistan. The impact on
the peace process of this farce can well be imagined.

The writer is a lawyer and an author.




On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 6:09 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> FROM IANS: >>>>>>>
>
> "Voters in Kashmir defy winter chill, separatists"
> http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20081117/818/tnl-voters-in-kashmir-defy-winter-chill.html
>
> Mon, Nov 17 03:20 PM
>
> Srinagar/Jammu, Nov 17 (IANS) Voters braved the winter chill and ignored a boycott call by separatist leaders to vote in large numbers for the first phase of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir Monday.
>
> Polling started at 8 a.m. amid tight security in 10 constituencies spread over the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley, the Hindu-majority Jammu region and the mainly Buddhist Ladakh. The voting for the 87 constituencies is being held in seven phases, starting Monday.
>
> Barring a small clash between a group of people protesting against the elections in Bandipora town and the police and a scuffle between workers of National Conference and People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the neighbouring Sonawari constituency, balloting was progressing smoothly.
>
> Notwithstanding the freezing cold and the fear of the separatists, the trickle of voters at polling stations across the 10 constituencies in the Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir Valley regions continued. The crowds were increasing as the day progressed.
>
> The statistics too spoke of the voter enthusiasm.
>
> Till noon, in Jammu region, Surankot reported a turnout of 35 percent, Poonch Haveli 29 and Mendhar 22, while the figures for the four seats in Ladakh region are, Kargil 26, Zanskar 18, Nobra 17.7 and Leh 12.2.
>
> Gurez in the Kashmir Valley topped with 21 percent followed by Bandipora 16 and Sonawari 12. This is significant given the boycott call of the separatists and the fear of violence in the region.
>
> Officials said the percentage in the Valley might appear low but they hoped it will improve with better weather.
>
> People clad in woollens and holding kangris (traditional wooden or earthen firepots) were seen queueing up outside polling stations in Bandipora and Sonawari in the Valley right since the morning.
>
> Separatist leaders, many of them jailed during the run-up to the vote, had asked people in the Kashmir Valley to boycott the polls.
>
> Hurriyat Conference, the main separatist group, had even called for a march in Bandipora and Sonawari against the elections.
>
> But adequate security at all polling stations ensured there was no such move by the Hurriyat till noon. Dotting every road in the Kashmir valley are armed paramilitary troopers and policemen. All entry points to these two constituencies were under check.
>
> There was only one incident involving those opposing the elections in Kashmir. 'In Bandipora town, a small group of protesters came out in the town to dissuade voters from exercising their franchise,' the district's superintendent of police, Sheikh Junaid, told IANS. They were chased away following a clash.
>
> Another incident was a clash between workers of the National Conference (NC) and People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Sonawari constituency over allegations of booth capturing.
>
> A scuffle broke out between them at the Poshpura polling station in Naidkhai area when PDP workers accused their NC counterparts of booth capturing.
>
> The state is currently under governor's rule. In the past, militants have attacked and killed many candidates and political workers during elections, vandalised polling stations and attacked rallies to thwart elections.
>
> In Nobra, Leh, Kargil and Zanskar constituencies of the Ladakh region - where temperatures have dipped below zero degrees Celsius - people lined up in large numbers since morning outside polling stations.
>
> There was a lot of enthusiasm among voters in Mendhar, Surankote and Poonch-Haveli constituencies of Poonch district in the Jammu region.
>
> Deputy Commissioner of Poonch Mohammad Afzal Bhat said there were 373 polling stations in the district of which 120 were hyper-sensitive and 150 sensitive from the security point of view.
>
> 'We are expecting at least 70 percent turnout as the weather is also bright and sunny here,' Bhat said.
>
> Though the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border, was quiet after the 2003 truce between India and Pakistan, Bhat said that 'keeping in mind the incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan, we have contingency plans for 30 polling stations close to the LoC to be relocated in case of any eventuality'.
>
> Reports from Gurez constituency said a sizeable number of voters had lined up at Dawar, the sub-divisional headquarters that is in the constituency.
>
> Vying for power in the state are the Congress, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Also in the fray are the Panthers Party as well as a slew of independents.
>
> The Congress and PDP had together ruled the state since 2002 but the government of Congress chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad collapsed after the PDP withdrew support this year.
>
> The 10 constituencies that went to the polls Monday have 1,064 polling stations. There are 58,073 voters in Kargil, 62,533 in Leh, 20,044 in Zanskar, 11,863 in Nobra, 84,726 in Sonawari, 86,306 in Bandipora, 15,330 in Gurez, 84,969 in Surankote, 77,853 in Mendhar and 96,758 in Poonch-Haveli.
>
> The remaining six phases of the elections will be held Nov 23, Nov 30, Dec 7, Dec 13, Dec 17 and Dec 24. The counting of votes will take place Dec 28.
>
>
> FROM PTI:>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> Mon, Nov 17 02:50 PM
> "Low to medium turnout in first phase of J-K polls"
> http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20081117/1416/tnl-low-to-medium-turnout-in-first-phase.html
>
> Jammu/Srinagar, Nov 17 (PTI) Low to medium turnout was witnessed till after midday today in the 10 assembly constituencies in the first stage of the seven-phase elections in Jammu and Kashmir with voters coming out in lesser numbers in the three seats of cold wave-struck Valley amid tight security and a boycott call by separatists. In the first five hours of polling which began at 8 AM, no violence was reported as 22.4 per cent of the six lakh strong electorate cast their ballots, officials said.
>
> Despite sub zero temperature in Kargil and Zanskar segments, unprecedented enthusiasm among voters was seen in the two hilly constituencies. In Kargil segment, an estimated 26 per cent voters out of total electorate of 58,488 had exercised their right to franchise.
>
> In Zanskar constituency, 20 per cent of 20,348 electorate had cast their votes, the officials said. Zanskar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 11 degrees Celsius while it was minus four degrees in Kargil.
>
> Women dressed in traditional colourful attire outnumbered their male counterparts at many polling stations in the two constituencies. Surankote in Poonch district recorded the highest 35 per cent polling till midday followed by 26 per cent in Kargil and 25.50 per cent in Nobra, they said.
>
> In the once terrorist-infested Bandipora district, 25 per cent polling was witnessed in Gurez while Bandipora and Sonawari recorded 12 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. A curfew-like situation prevailed in Kashmir as authorities deployed thousands of security personnel in Srinagar and other major towns in view of a call for 'Jehan election waha challo' (march to where elections are) -- given by separatist co-ordination committee.
>
> Officials also attributed severe cold which has gripped the valley following heavy snowfall on Friday as the reason for dull polling there. PTI.
>
> FROM 'GREATER KASHMIR': >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> ITEM 1
> "23% polling recorded till noon"
> http://www.greaterkashmir.com/latest_Story.asp?Date=17_11_2008&ItemID=10
>
> GK NEWS NETWORK
>
> Srinagar, Nov 17: An estimated 23 per cent polling was recorded in ten assembly segments in Jammu and Kashmir during the first four hours, a official spokesman said.
> He said, Surankote recorded the highest of 35 percent followed by Kargil 26, Nobra 25.50, Gurez 25, Leh 22.45, Zanaskar 20, Poonch and Mendhar 22, Sonawari 14 and Bandipora 12 per cent.
>
> ITEM 2
> "Polling picking up in Ladakh, Poonch"
> http://www.greaterkashmir.com/latest_Story.asp?Date=17_11_2008&ItemID=5
>
> GK NEWS NETWORK
>
> Updated at 1240 hours IST
>
> Srinagar: Polling was picking up in four assembly segments of Ladakh region despite chilly weather conditions, officials said.
>
> They said despite minus 8 degree temperature, people came out in large numbers to cast their votes. "Long queues could be seen outside the polling booths even before the start of the polling. At some booths, women had outnumbered men," officials said.
>
> They said in three assembly segments of Poonch voters could be seen waiting for their turn near the polling stations.
>
> ITEM 3
> "Polling dull in Bandipora, picking up in adjoining villages"
> http://www.greaterkashmir.com/latest_Story.asp?Date=17_11_2008&ItemID=4
>
> GK NEWS NETWORK
>
> Updated at 1220 hours IST
>
> Bandipora, Nov 17: Bandipora town and other adjoining areas in north Kashmir went to polls amidst unprecedented security arrangements on Monday.
>
> Not many people had turned out to vote in the main town till afternoon, butin the nearby villages people were coming out to exercise their franchise. "Boycott is not complete. Polling percentage would cross fifty percent if people continue to come out," said an official.
>
>
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