Pro-Musharraf Party Behind In Election Results

[babylonsister]

Musharraf allies headed for defeat in Pakistan vote

Zeeshan Haider
Reuters North American News Service

Feb 18, 2008 19:26 EST

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The party that backs Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was headed for defeat on Tuesday after voters rallied to the opposition, raising questions about the future of the U.S. ally who has ruled since 1999.

As president, former army chief Musharraf did not contest Monday's parliamentary elections aimed at completing a transition to civilian rule, but the outcome could seal his fate.

A hostile parliament could try to remove Musharraf, who took power as a general in a 1999 coup and emerged as a crucial U.S. ally in a "war on terror" that most Pakistanis think is Washington's, not theirs.

The election was relatively peaceful after a bloody campaign and opposition fears of rampant rigging by Musharraf's supporters appeared unfounded.

more...

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/02/musharraf_allies_headed_for_de.php

[EFerrari]

1. Is that even possible? I don't know whether to be excited or scared.

Who else can organize Pakistan?

[babylonsister]

2. I dunno; I figured by the time I wake up, the results will have changed. nt

[babylonsister]

3. Pakistanis Deal a Blow to Musharraf

Pakistanis Deal a Blow to Musharraf
Opposition Parties Head for Big Victories in Parliamentary Elections


Eight weeks after Benazir Bhutto was slain, Pakistan held parliamentary elections on Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. The final results, expected days later, could shepherd a troubled nation into a new era of civilian rule and gird it against the Islamic extremists suspected of her killing.

By Candace Rondeaux and Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, February 19, 2008; Page A01


ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 19 -- Voters in Pakistan appeared to deliver a sharp rebuke to President Pervez Musharraf on Monday, handing significant victories to the country's two leading opposition parties in parliamentary elections, according to early returns and Pakistani politicians.

Official vote tallies were not expected to be released for several days, but by early Tuesday morning, there were indications that the party of Musharraf, a top U.S. ally, had fallen far out of favor with voters. The country's opposition groups were outpacing other parties by wide margins in several key provinces, including Punjab, home to more than half of this country's 80 million eligible voters.

The president of Musharraf's faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, along with several other prominent party leaders, lost their seats in parliament, according to Pakistan's Dawn News, an English-language television station.

In a televised address early Monday, Musharraf, who had promised to hold "free, fair and transparent" elections, pledged to abide by the results.

"This is the voice of the nation," he said on state-run Pakistan Television. "Everyone should accept the results. That includes myself."

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/18/AR2008021800830.html