Imran Khan’s nomination for 2024 Pakistan national elections rejected by poll body

Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's nomination for the 8 February 2024 General Elections has been rejected by Pakistan's election body. Imran Khan had filed nomination in two constituencies. 

The 71 year old former prime minister of Pakistan was granted bail on 22 December in a case alleging he leaked state secrets, but he remained jailed on other charges ahead of an election due on 8 February 2024. 

Imran Khan, a former cricketer with Pakistan men's cricket team, has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022. 

Imran Khan has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.

Notably, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief has been disqualified from contesting the national elections because of the corruption conviction, but he nevertheless filed nomination papers for the elections on Friday.

According to a Reuters report, Election Commission of Pakistan said Imran Khan's nomination was rejected because he was not a registered voter of the constituency and because he is " convicted by the court of law and has been disqualified".

Imran Khan has also filed nomination from his hometown, Mianwali, which was rejected by the Election Commission of Pakistan. 

Imran Khan has blamed the Pakistan military for him being in jail, and has accused them of trying to keep him away from Pakistan National Elections. However, Pakistani Military had denied these claims. 

Pakistan's Supreme Court granted Khan bail in a case related to a leak of state secrets last Friday, a day after a high court refused to suspend his disqualification from contesting the elections.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday also moved Peshawar High Court to challenge its single-bench ruling on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) electoral 'bat' symbol, The News International reported.

It reported that ECP has requested the court review the PTI's intra-party elections and its decisions related to the election symbol and also requested the court fix the plea before a division bench in the greater interest of the public. It said that the ECP is charged with the duty to conduct elections honestly, justly, fairly and under law.