Norwegian party faces criticism after nominating Imran Khan for Nobel Peace Prize
A Norwegian political party has faced criticism for nominating PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“We are pleased to announce on behalf of Partiet Sentrum that in alliance with somebody with the right to nominate, have nominated Mr Imran Khan the former prime minister of Pakistan to the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with human rights and democracy in Pakistan,” the party said on X.
The Partiet Sentrum, however, did not name the intermediary that put forward Imran’s name.
However, the nomination sparked criticism at the Partiet Sentrum, with claims that the party was “using a possible Peace Prize nomination to win votes”, according to the NRK News website.
“What is happening here is probably that [Geir] Lippestad strongly wants a seat in the Storting. And he wants to secure as many votes as possible in the Norwegian-Pakistani community,” said Kristian Berg Harpviken, the director of the Nobel Institute, according to the website.
Lippestad leads the party.
There has been no official communication by the Oslo-based Nobel Prize Committee regarding the announcement by the Norwegian party.
In 2019, Imran was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to promote peace in South Asia.
Every year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee receives hundreds of nominations, after which they select the winner through a lengthy eight-month process.
The nomination period for this year’s prize concluded on January 31, and the committee registered 338 candidates for the 2025 Peace Prize, of which 244 are individuals and 94 are organisations.
However, the committee does not disclose the names of the nominators or nominees for the prize.
In April 2022, Imran lost power following a no-confidence vote. He denies all charges brought against him, claiming they are politically motivated, but the government denies the allegations.