Pakistan Election Subject To ‘Pre-Poll Rigging,’ says Rights Watchdog

Jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party is being targeted by “systematic dismemberment” and “pre-poll rigging”, a rights watchdog said on January 2, casting doubt on the fairness of upcoming elections.

Nomination papers for Khan and the majority of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party candidates have been rejected by the electoral commission, according to PTI, shutting them out of the February 8 ballot.

“The nature of the rejections seems systematic,” according to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) official Farhatullah Babar. Human rights groups and independent monitors in Pakistan have voiced concern over military-backed government crackdown on the political party and increased media censorship.