Foreign diplomats from 15 countries were allowed to observe local elections in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on Wednesday, as New Delhi highlighted the first vote in the disputed Himalayan territory in a decade.
It was the first time India had invited foreign diplomats to witness a vote in the region, which was stripped of partial autonomy by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government five years ago, though Delhi has hosted similar trips before and hosted a G20 meeting on tourism there last year.
More than nine million voters are eligible to elect members of the region's 90-seat legislature in the three-phase election, the second phase of which began on Wednesday.
The vote is the first in the region since 2014.
The visitors, who included diplomats from the embassies of the United States, Mexico, Singapore, Spain and South Korea, among others, visited polling stations across Muslim-majority IIOJK, officials in Srinagar and New Delhi said.
“It's a unique opportunity to come to Kashmir and see the electoral process in action and democracy. Everything seems to be running smoothly, everything is very professional,” said Jorgan K Andrews, deputy chief of mission at the US embassy.
Until 2019, IIOJK had a special semi-autonomous status that was revoked by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, which said the move “helped restore normalcy in the area and boosted development”.
But Modi's opponents said the diplomats' visit was not necessary.
“When foreign governments comment (on IIOJK), the Indian government says it is an internal matter of India, and now suddenly they want foreign observers to come and watch our elections,” said Omar Abdullah, leader of the local National Conference party.
After casting his vote, Abdullah stressed that the IIOJK elections are “an internal matter for us and we do not need their certificate.”
In the past, pro-independence fighters have attacked elections in IIOJK, and voter turnout has generally been low. However, the territory recorded its highest turnout in 35 years in national elections held in April and May, with a participation rate of 58.46%.
