Elections are being held but I have serious doubts about whether true democracy or democratic principles are being followed,” says Samina Yasmin, director of the Center for Muslim States and Societies at the University of Western Australia.
And now Khan will not even have a cricket bat.
On Monday, Khan's PTI party was banned from using the iconic cricket bat logo on ballot papers, significantly hurting its chances among up to 40 percent illiterate voters. Most importantly, it effectively bans the PTI as a party and means that its candidates will likely have to stand as independent candidates, which allegedly Will use a range of symbols from roller coaster to goat. "An electoral symbol is an essential component of fair elections," Rauf Hassan, PTI's principal spokesperson and former special assistant to Khan, told TIME. "It's teething the party."
Pakistani lawmakers are constitutionally bound to vote along party lines on certain important matters, including the Leader of the House and fiscal legislation. But if the PTI-backed candidates are formally independent, they are not under any such constraints, which makes it very easy for the opposition to form alliances by targeting people through greed. Furthermore, the PTI will be ineligible to receive the correct proportion of the 200 parliamentary "reserved seats" for women and minorities, which are allocated in proportion to the party's overall vote share, which are instead registered to other parties. will be divided into parties.
Then, registration as an independent candidate was not easy for PTI either. Every candidate has to file their nomination papers in the constituency where they intend to stand, but the nomination papers of PTI candidates are often snatched away by shadowy security personnel. To avoid this, the PTI has decided to send several candidates with nomination papers in the hope that someone might break the security fence.
But even if one does manage to submit papers, each candidate needs a recommender and co-sponsor to attend the nomination in person. Hasan says that on many occasions, a PTI candidate has submitted his papers only for one of the two to be suddenly "kidnapped", meaning an alleged 90 per cent of his candidates' nomination papers. were rejected. "This is massive pre-poll rigging."
The hurdles facing Khan and the PTI stand in stark contrast to the lot faced by former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was recently ousted in 2017 on corruption charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In 2018, Sharif went to London on bail for medical treatment but escaped and remains a fugitive in exile. But on October 21, an apparently healthy Sharif returned to Pakistan, where his corruption conviction was swiftly overturned and his lifetime ban from politics lifted last week. On Monday, Sharif, 74, launched his campaign to return for a fourth term as prime minister, disfavouring PTI supporters.
Temperatures are set to rise in the next few weeks as candidates head out for rallies, Khan's sister Aleema told TIME. There will be anger on the streets.
It is no secret that Pakistan's military monarchs have thrown their support behind Sharif, which ultimately means he is a shoo-in for a return to power. But Khan's enduring popularity means heavier tactics will be needed. Despite all of the PTI's hegemony while in power, and its abysmal governance record, a December Gallup poll showed Qaid Khan's approval rating at 57 percent, compared to Sharif's 52 percent. Is. PTI is confident that it will win if it is allowed to have a fair contest.
People, especially at the grassroots level, are very supportive of Imran Khan, says Yasmeen. Even if he asked them to vote for a piece of furniture, he would get elected.
