SRINAGAR: The Indian Election Commission cancelled the bye-election to Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in Indian Occupied-Kashmir, which was scheduled for May 25.
The by-election was postponed amid the ongoing unrest and protest against the Indian occupation.
The by-election to the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat was necessitated following the resignation of Mehbooba Mufti last year to take over as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba’s broehr Mufti Tassaduq Hussain is running for the seat she vacated.
Earlier this month, the Election Commission had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs asking that 75,000 personnel be deployed to ensure the safety of those who step out to vote as well as to ensure there’s no violence at polling booths in the constituency.
Polling to the Anantnag constituency had already been postponed once. Voting was scheduled for April 12, which was postponed to May 25. The Election Commission is yet to come out with a new date. In Srinangar, where polling was held on April 9 amid massive violence, the voter percentage was below 7 percent.
