Pakistan's Upcoming Election Under Scrutiny Amid Pre-Poll Rigging Charges
Voice of America
A car passes by an election billboard, ahead of Pakistan's general elections, along a road in Peshawar on Dec. 22, 2023. Munizae Jahangir, the co-chairperson at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, speaks during a news conference, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Jan. 1, 2024. FILE - Pakistan Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar speaks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 2, 2023. FILE - Supporters of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party chant slogans as they gather, after the country's Election Commission disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan from running for political office, during a protest in Karachi, Oct. 21, 2022. FILE - Security officers escort Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as he appeared in Islamabad High Court, Islamabad, Pakistan, May 12, 2023.
Human rights groups and independent monitors in Pakistan cast aspersions Monday on the integrity and credibility of the February 8 parliamentary elections, citing a military-backed government crackdown on a mainstream political party and increased media censorship.
A voter casts her ballot as an electoral official and a Botswana Police officer look on at the Gaborone Block 8 polling station in Gaborone on October 30, 2024, during Botswana's general election. Residents await their turns to cast their votes during an election to decide if it keeps faith with one of Africa's longest-ruling parties, in Gaborone, Botswana, Oct. 30, 2024.
FILE - A young man holds an EU flag as he attends an opposition protest against the results of the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Oct. 28, 2024.
A Long March rocket with a Shenzhou-19 spacecraft atop takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwestern China in the early hours of Oct. 30, 2024.
FILE - In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wave from an open top limousine as they travel along a street in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 20, 2019.
FILE - Armed Al-Shabab fighters patrol in Mogadishu, Somalia, June 29, 2009. A prosecutor told a federal jury in Manhattan that Cholo Abdi Abdullah plotted an attack for four years that he hoped to carry out on behalf of the terrorist organization al-Shabab.
Cars are being swept away by the water, after floods preceded by heavy rains caused the river to overflow its banks in the town of Alora, Malaga, Spain, Oct. 29, 2024.
FILE - A street with entertainment facilities is seen in Bangkok, Thailand, March 18, 2020. A new draft bill now aims to introduce entertainment complexes and casinos throughout the country in hopes it will give its economy and tourism a much-needed boost. FILE - Tourists visit the Grand Palace, one of Thailand's top tourist attractions, in Bangkok, Jan. 7, 2023.
FILE - Somalia's Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 27, 2024.
FILE - Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman attends the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 6, 2024.
Police officers keep watch near barricades set up along Julu Road where people in Halloween costumes gathered the year before, in Shanghai, China, on Oct. 26, 2024.
FILE - Taliban security personnel stand guard as people watch a public flogging at a stadium in Charikar, Parwan province, Afghanistan, on Dec. 8, 2022. Four people, including a woman, were similarly flogged recently, Taliban officials said on Oct. 29, 2024.