Imran, Elahi cast votes via postal ballot

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Sheikh Rasheed unable to vote

RAWALPINDI:

The postal ballot polling on Wednesday concluded at Central Jail Adiala, with the imprisoned founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, exercising his voting right through a postal ballot.

A total of fifteen prisoners, among them Imran Khan and former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, participated in the postal ballot voting process.

However, despite pleas from former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, the prison administration was unable to secure the postal ballots.

Imran Khan finds himself incarcerated with a tally of four criminal convictions, three of which were pronounced just last week. Due to these legal setbacks, he is prohibited from participating in elections or assuming any public office.

The sentences handed down include terms of three, 10, 14, and seven years, all to be served concurrently. Furthermore, Imran Khan faces an extensive legal challenge, with over 150 additional legal cases pending against him.

He remains incarcerated ahead of February 8 (today’s) vote.

Out of the 145 prisoners who applied to vote via postal ballots, only fifteen, including Imran Khan and Pervaiz Ellahi, managed to obtain the necessary materials for casting their votes.

A designated location within the jail was earmarked as a regular polling station for the postal ballot voting.

Due to the high-profile status of Imran and Elahi, postal ballots and voting materials were sent to their cells, where they marked and submitted their votes.

It is worth noting that a total of 145 prisoners, including the founder of PTI, former Punjab chief minister, former foreign minister, and former interior minister, had submitted applications to the prison administration to exercise their voting rights via postal ballots.

However, due to the failure of the prison administration to receive the postal ballots, approximately 130 prisoners, including Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Sheikh Rasheed, were unable to partake in the electoral process.

The cast votes have reportedly been dispatched to the District Returning Officer (DRO) at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the prescribed manner.