Islamabad: A second application by Pakistani ex-Premier Benazir Bhutto to contest October polls has been rejected, an Election Commission official said on September 1.

Abdul Ghani Soomro, a Returning Officer at the Bhutto family stronghold at Larkana 1,200 km South East of Islamabad, said that the nomination was rejected on the grounds that Bhutto had been convicted for "absconding" from two graft trials earlier this year.

"She has been convicted by an accountability court to three years (in jail) and under the election rules a convict stands disqualified. I regret that her nomination cannot be accepted," Soomro said.

After the decision was announced hundreds of Bhutto supporters who had gathered outside the electoral commission offices chanted slogans and hurled abuse aimed at Pakistan's military leader President Pervez Musharraf.

Despite tight security they pounded the doors and stormed into the building, beating their chests and shouting, "Go, Musharraf, Go. Our Prime Minister is Benazir Bhutto."

Police did not intervene, apparently intimidated by the mood and size of the crowd, witnesses said.

The latest hearing on September 1 into Bhutto's nomination for candidacy in Pakistan's October 10 elections lasted approximately 40 minutes, during which her counsel cited several legal precedents in favour of her nomination's acceptance.

"If she is disqualified the voters will stand disenfranchised and they will not be allowed to chose their own candidate," said counsel Farooq Naik, adding that the disqualification would be appealed.