Islamabad: Pakistan’s election body has rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s nomination to contest the 2024 parliamentary elections, with Khan’s Pakistan Tahreek-e Insaf (PTI) party accusing authorities of stopping most of its candidates from participating in the elections due in February.
The 71-year-old former cricket star, who is serving a three-year prison sentence for corruption, was barred from politics for five years by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). But he still filed nomination papers last week.
Election officials disallowed Khan’s candidacy because of his conviction and what they said was his disqualification under the Constitution. They also rejected the candidacies of former members of his cabinet.
The ECP released a list of rejected nominees from Lahore, which also contained Khan’s name. It said the former prime minister could not become a nominee because he is not a registered voter of the constituency and due to him being “convicted by the court of law”.Imran's bid to contest from his hometown of Mianwali in Punjab province, was also rejected by the ECP.
Last week, the Supreme Court granted him bail in a case alleging he leaked state secrets, but he is continuing to fight a barrage of legal cases that have dogged him since being removed from office last year.
Imran allowed to hold poll meetings: The Islamabad high court, meanwhile, allowed politicians from PTI to hold meetings with their incarcerated party chief in jail and strategise for the upcoming general elections.