PTI founder chairman Imran Khan will not be able to cast his vote on February 8.
Imprisoned in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi on multiple charges ranging from corruption to violation of the official secret act, the former prime minister’s application for casting his vote has not been received by the jail superintendent, a local TV reported. Khan says the cases are fabricated and fake.
Voting rights are available to every adult citizen (including prisoners) under Article 51 of the Constitution of Pakistan and the Election Commission Act 2014. However, the prisoners are required to apply with the jail authorities before the deadline set by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) before any election.
There are more than 40,000 prisoners in 99 jails in Pakistan. And it is difficult to say the data of all the prisoners are available with the ECP and how many among them are registered with the electoral watchdog.
The ECP, as per reports, issued a deadline of January 22 to the prisoners for submission of applications for getting permission to cast vote prisoners.
The TV report quoting the jail superintendent claims he has not received the applications of Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice-chairman of the PTI who is also in the same jail, as the deadline expired. The jail authorities say they received 40 applications so far and processed them as per the rules.
Khan and Qureshi are registered voters in their home constituencies of Mianwali and Multan.
