General Elections in Pakistan: Election Commission rejects nomination of ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan
Imran Khan filed his nomination papers for the National Assembly constituency NA-89. PTI leader Umar Bodla appeared on behalf of the former prime minister. The PTI founder, a 70-year-old former international cricketer, has been at the center of a political crisis since he was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022.
Islamabad: The Pakistan Election Commission’s rejection of PTI founder Imran Khan’s candidacy papers for the upcoming general elections has hit him hard, especially as they were filed in Mianwali, his home area. Surprisingly, this happened even though he had already been excluded from participation. Doubts over Khan’s suitability for politics are now mounting following the latest move by the Election Commission, according to a report by news agency ANI.
Imran Khan’s election nomination
Imran Khan filed his nomination papers for the National Assembly constituency NA-89. PTI leader Umar Bodla appeared on behalf of the former prime minister. The PTI founder, a 70-year-old former international cricketer, has been at the center of a political crisis since he was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022.
The cricketer-turned-politician was sent to prison for three years on August 5 after being found guilty of selling state gifts during his tenure as prime minister in 2018-2022 – charges he denies, Geo News reported.
Khan is trying to overturn that conviction, which barred him from participating in elections for five years. He filed a plea in the Islamabad High Court but it was rejected following which the party moved to the Supreme Court.
In a separate victory for his legal team, they managed to get him bail from the apex court earlier in the day; However, the jailed former prime minister still won’t be able to get out of jail anytime soon as he was arrested in two more cases during his captivity, according to Geo News.
Khan’s legal team says the court, which sent Khan to prison and disqualified him, made an “unfounded” ruling.
General elections in Pakistan proposed next year
Pakistan’s general election will take place on February 8, 2024, with political parties raising the stakes by organizing rallies or involving politicians with a sizeable voter base in their ranks. The two main issues the new government will face are economic stabilization and political uncertainty, both of which have been persistent since PTI’s ouster.
According to Geo News, several politicians have hinted that a coalition would rule the country, as no single leader or party is capable of forming a majority. Despite his disqualification and fallout with the establishment, Khan remains a crucial reason for PTI’s vote bank, as was evident when his party released an AI-generated audio of Khan to boost the morale of supporters, Geo News reported.
An uphill task remains for the PTI as it heads into the polls after Khan resigned as PTI chairman and handed over the reins to lawyer Gohar Khan, the man who has been in the party for about a year.