ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s aides on Saturday said Pakistan’s election regulator had rejected nomination papers of several members of their Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, alleging “pre-poll rigging” ahead of the national elections scheduled for February 8.
The Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) deadline to file nominations expired on Dec 24, with 28,626 candidates submitting their nominations for national and provincial assembly elections. It was followed by the process of scrutiny of nominations by election officials till December 30.
The ECP rejected Khan’s nomination to contest the 2024 national elections in two constituencies. Other PTI members whose nominations were rejected included Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, Murad Saeed, Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Dr. Amjad Khan, Fazal Hakim Khan, Mian Sharafat, Salim-ur-Rahman, said Omar Ayub Khan, a Khan aide and a former federal minister.
“Had already predicted that ROs (returning officers) will reject PTI candidates nomination papers on flimsy grounds. More rejections of PTI candidates nomination papers by under pressure ROs are expected today,” Omar said on X.
“If this pre poll rigging continues unabated, the transparency of election process is and will be called into question. Political instability will grow exponentially after a rigged election, and national cohesion will deteriorate.”

In a list of rejected candidates from Lahore, the election regulator said Khan’s nomination was rejected because he was not a registered voter of the constituency and was “convicted by the court of law and has been disqualified.”
His media team said the commission had also rejected his nomination to contest the elections from his hometown, Mianwali.
Zulfikar Bukhari, another Khan aide, said his nomination papers had been rejected on the basis that they bore his “fake” signatures.
“Returning officers are accomplice & reason why PTI had requested ROs from Judiciary & not bureaucracy,” Bukhari said in a statement.
The ECP earlier this month also stripped Khan’s party of its electoral symbol, a cricket bat, for violating rules in the intraparty elections. The symbol is reflective of Khan’s past as a successful cricketer, who led Pakistan to their only 50-over World Cup win in 1992.
However, a Pakistani high court on Dec. 26 suspended the ECP’s decision and restored cricket bat as the election symbol of Khan’s party.
Khan, who is in prison since August after being convicted in a graft case, has accused Pakistan’s powerful military, the ECP, and his political rivals of colluding to keep him and the PTI away from elections. He denies any wrongdoing and says the charges against him are politically motivated.
The Pakistani military, the election regulator, and the caretaker government deny Khan’s allegations.