It is election day in Pakistan. But in the world’s fifth largest democracy, people are not able to vote for the most popular leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who cannot contest elections after having been disbarred. Khan will spend today – and potentially 14 more years – in jail. So how did the situation get so bad and what lies ahead?
Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), are leading in opinion surveys, but their electoral symbol has been banned, and observers are predicting that the vote will be a fait accompli for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).