Pakistan election set to impact world
Saturday, 16 February 2008
ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (AFP): Pakistanis vote Monday in elections that are expected to further destabilise the nuclear- armed nation and determine the future of President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led 'war on terror'.
The parliamentary poll has been brutally overshadowed by the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in December, and dogged by widespread allegations of rigging in favour of Musharraf's allies.
Musharraf, who sacked the judiciary to pave his way to a second presidential term last year, is not contesting the polls, but he faces impeachment if the opposition wins more than two-thirds of parliament.
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party has meanwhile threatened to unleash street protests if it feels robbed of victory, a move that would plunge the country further into crisis, with potentially global repercussions.
"The election is critically important because it will determine the future of Musharraf," political analyst and newspaper columnist Shafqat Mehmood told the news agency.
Pakistan is already being blitzed by a wave of suicide bombings, including the one that killed Bhutto at an election rally on December and forced the postponement of the vote from its original date on January 8.
Tens of thousands of troops fanned out across Pakistan this week to guard government installations and some 64,000 polling stations -- nearly a third of which have been declared sensitive by the government.
The parliamentary poll has been brutally overshadowed by the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in December, and dogged by widespread allegations of rigging in favour of Musharraf's allies.
Musharraf, who sacked the judiciary to pave his way to a second presidential term last year, is not contesting the polls, but he faces impeachment if the opposition wins more than two-thirds of parliament.
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party has meanwhile threatened to unleash street protests if it feels robbed of victory, a move that would plunge the country further into crisis, with potentially global repercussions.
"The election is critically important because it will determine the future of Musharraf," political analyst and newspaper columnist Shafqat Mehmood told the news agency.
Pakistan is already being blitzed by a wave of suicide bombings, including the one that killed Bhutto at an election rally on December and forced the postponement of the vote from its original date on January 8.
Tens of thousands of troops fanned out across Pakistan this week to guard government installations and some 64,000 polling stations -- nearly a third of which have been declared sensitive by the government.