Official: Pakistan to delay elections

Pakistan’s elections will be delayed, a government official said Tuesday, a decision made despite public anger against the ruling party and threats of more protests.

Election Commission spokesman Kanwar Dilshad said it “looks impossible” to hold the election next Tuesday as scheduled because of the violence and rioting that followed the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. After meeting with political parties, the commission planned to announce a new election date Wednesday, most likely for February. Opposition parties, including Bhutto’s party, have pushed for the election to be held on time.

The delay will benefit beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf and his ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, analysts said.

Protests and riots since Bhutto’s death have targeted government buildings and some PML-Q offices.

Many Pakistanis see Musharraf and the government as complicit in Bhutto’s death. Bhutto’s husband referred to the ruling party as the “killer league,” and the party cannot hold any public rally for fear of retaliation. Many candidates have even left their home constituencies to avoid violence.

“Overall the Q-League came out as a villain” after Bhutto’s death, said Muhammad Wasim, a professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. “So how is it going to play out? Whatever the tension is, it’s going to subside. It will lead to a bit of a resurgence of the party.”

But not necessarily to votes, analysts said. Party members are unable to campaign, and emotions against Musharraf and the party are running high. On Monday, two parliamentary candidates from the ruling party even switched to the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, said Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, the Nawaz party’s general secretary in Punjab province.

Musharraf at risk?
If opposition parties win more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament and manage to work together, they could push out Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror. He has struggled for political survival in the past year as the Taliban and Al Qaeda have gained strength near Afghanistan.

But it is unclear how Bhutto’s party, the Pakistan People’s Party, would treat Musharraf, who seized power in Pakistan in 1999. Although some party officials have accused the government of links to Bhutto’s death, Bhutto had been negotiating a power-sharing deal with Musharraf last year, and the party has supported Musharraf, in actions if not words, on many crucial issues in recent months.

“If the People’s Party continues to be his lifeline, he’ll survive,” said Ayesha Tammy Haq, a lawyer and political commentator.

The two major opposition parties, including Bhutto’s, have both said they want the election to be held on time and said a delay would only provoke more unrest and violence. Bhutto’s party hopes to win the sympathy vote and perhaps a majority of seats in parliament — a highly unlikely outcome before Bhutto died.

The PML-Q announced Tuesday that it would participate in the elections if they were held next week but said the decision is up to the election commission. But party President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also complained that violence had specifically targeted the party.

“We have been informed that women were raped, the property of PML-Q workers was destroyed and banks were looted,” Hussain told reporters Tuesday, blaming Bhutto party workers for the destruction.

The account of rapes could not be verified, but PML-Q property and banks have been attacked. Eleven out of 27 election offices in southern Sindh province, Bhutto’s homeland, were also ransacked and set on fire.

“The electoral rolls have been burned, the polling schemes, the nomination papers have been burned,” Dilshad told reporters. “We are in a very tricky situation.”

The U.S. and Britain have indicated they would accept a slight delay in voting but view the election as crucial to restoring democracy to Pakistan, which has been under military rule for most of its 60 years.

One election official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the commission has already decided to delay the elections but needs to pick a date the opposition will accept.

Preparations to be made
Logistically, it appears there was no way the election could have been held on time. The government needs to finish creating 849 ballots, make 190 million copies and somehow send them to 70,000 polling stations.

International observers — considered crucial for a controversial election — are also not prepared. Observers from the U.S.-based International Republican Institute have left, and observers from the European Union-led mission have not yet deployed outside Islamabad because of the unrest.

A Western election expert in Pakistan said the first possible date for the election is Jan. 22 or 23, because of the start of a Shiite holiday that has led to sectarian clashes in the past. The next possible date would be in the second week of February, after the monthlong holiday. If the date is later than that, many Pakistanis would object, the expert said.

The expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his work, said he believed the Pakistan People’s Party would accept a slight delay but not much, because it wants to make the most of the sympathy vote.

Although violence has eased somewhat, Pakistanis and some analysts worried there could be more protests if elections are delayed — especially past February. After Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq seized power in 1977, he promised elections within 90 days. Elections were not held until 1985.

“If they delay it too long, all the forces of opposition would join together and come out on the streets,” said Talat Masood, a retired army general and political analyst. “Then you would really find Pakistan up in flames.”

A poll of 100 people at the Aapbara Market in Islamabad found that 86 wanted the elections to be held immediately; only 14 wanted a delay.

“Nobody’s going to endorse it if the election gets delayed,” said Amjad Iqbal, 24, who runs a newspaper stand. “I think there will be a huge reaction on the streets. There will be chaos and mass protests.”

Official: Pakistan to delay elections; Hold on vote likely benefits Musharraf, hurts other parties

By Kim Barker, Tribune foreign correspondent
January 2, 2008
Pakistan’s elections will be delayed, a government official said Tuesday, a decision made despite public anger against the ruling party and threats of more protests.
Election Commission spokesman Kanwar Dilshad said it “looks impossible” to hold the election next Tuesday as scheduled because of the violence and rioting that followed the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. After meeting with political parties, the commission planned to announce a new election date Wednesday, most likely for February. Opposition parties, including Bhutto’s party, have pushed for the election to be held on time.
The delay will benefit beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf and his ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, analysts said.
Protests and riots since Bhutto’s death have targeted government buildings and some PML-Q offices.
Many Pakistanis see Musharraf and the government as complicit in Bhutto’s death. Bhutto’s husband referred to the ruling party as the “killer league,” and the party cannot hold any public rally for fear of retaliation. Many candidates have even left their home constituencies to avoid violence.
“Overall the Q-League came out as a villain” after Bhutto’s death, said Muhammad Wasim, a professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. “So how is it going to play out? Whatever the tension is, it’s going to subside. It will lead to a bit of a resurgence of the party.”
But not necessarily to votes, analysts said. Party members are unable to campaign, and emotions against Musharraf and the party are running high. On Monday, two parliamentary candidates from the ruling party even switched to the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, said Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, the Nawaz party’s general secretary in Punjab province.
Musharraf at risk?
If opposition parties win more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament and manage to work together, they could push out Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror. He has struggled for political survival in the past year as the Taliban and Al Qaeda have gained strength near Afghanistan.
But it is unclear how Bhutto’s party, the Pakistan People’s Party, would treat Musharraf, who seized power in Pakistan in 1999. Although some party officials have accused the government of links to Bhutto’s death, Bhutto had been negotiating a power-sharing deal with Musharraf last year, and the party has supported Musharraf, in actions if not words, on many crucial issues in recent months.
“If the People’s Party continues to be his lifeline, he’ll survive,” said Ayesha Tammy Haq, a lawyer and political commentator.
The two major opposition parties, including Bhutto’s, have both said they want the election to be held on time and said a delay would only provoke more unrest and violence. Bhutto’s party hopes to win the sympathy vote and perhaps a majority of seats in parliament — a highly unlikely outcome before Bhutto died.
The PML-Q announced Tuesday that it would participate in the elections if they were held next week but said the decision is up to the election commission. But party President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also complained that violence had specifically targeted the party.
“We have been informed that women were raped, the property of PML-Q workers was destroyed and banks were looted,” Hussain told reporters Tuesday, blaming Bhutto party workers for the destruction.
The account of rapes could not be verified, but PML-Q property and banks have been attacked. Eleven out of 27 election offices in southern Sindh province, Bhutto’s homeland, were also ransacked and set on fire.
“The electoral rolls have been burned, the polling schemes, the nomination papers have been burned,” Dilshad told reporters. “We are in a very tricky situation.”
The U.S. and Britain have indicated they would accept a slight delay in voting but view the election as crucial to restoring democracy to Pakistan, which has been under military rule for most of its 60 years.
One election official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the commission has already decided to delay the elections but needs to pick a date the opposition will accept.
Preparations to be made
Logistically, it appears there was no way the election could have been held on time. The government needs to finish creating 849 ballots, make 190 million copies and somehow send them to 70,000 polling stations.
International observers — considered crucial for a controversial election — are also not prepared. Observers from the U.S.-based International Republican Institute have left, and observers from the European Union-led mission have not yet deployed outside Islamabad because of the unrest.
A Western election expert in Pakistan said the first possible date for the election is Jan. 22 or 23, because of the start of a Shiite holiday that has led to sectarian clashes in the past. The next possible date would be in the second week of February, after the monthlong holiday. If the date is later than that, many Pakistanis would object, the expert said.
The expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his work, said he believed the Pakistan People’s Party would accept a slight delay but not much, because it wants to make the most of the sympathy vote.
Although violence has eased somewhat, Pakistanis and some analysts worried there could be more protests if elections are delayed — especially past February. After Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq seized power in 1977, he promised elections within 90 days. Elections were not held until 1985.
“If they delay it too long, all the forces of opposition would join together and come out on the streets,” said Talat Masood, a retired army general and political analyst. “Then you would really find Pakistan up in flames.”
A poll of 100 people at the Aapbara Market in Islamabad found that 86 wanted the elections to be held immediately; only 14 wanted a delay.
“Nobody’s going to endorse it if the election gets delayed,” said Amjad Iqbal, 24, who runs a newspaper stand. “I think there will be a huge reaction on the streets. There will be chaos and mass protests.”

 

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