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Pakistanis -- at least some -- go to the polls
Latest developments February 2, 1997
Web posted at: 11:00 p.m. EST (0400 GMT)ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Polling stations opened early Monday in an election forced by the dismissal of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on disputed corruption charges.
President Farooq Leghari pleaded with Pakistanis to vote, but acknowledged on national television late Sunday that the ballot presented tainted candidates. Bhutto, whom Leghari fired three months ago, was among those running.
About 56.5 million Pakistanis age 21 and over are eligible to vote in the elections for a new 217-seat National Assembly, or lower house, and four provincial assemblies.
The head of the party that wins control of the National Assembly, alone or with coalition partners, will be prime minister for a five-year term.
A recent poll predicted turnout as low as 20 percent. Voters were thought to be discouraged without new choices, and disgusted with politics after seeing three governments dismissed on corruption charges in the last 12 years.
More than 36,000 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 4 p.m., under the watchful eyes of more than 150,000 troops on election duty. Soldiers have been given the power to jail anyone believed to be engaged in election fraud.
Officials say 1,758 candidates are vying for seats in the National Assembly and 4,426 for seats in the provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, North West Frontier and Balochistan.
Voters consider three main choices
The main fight is between the Pakistan Muslim League led by Nawaz Sharif, fielding 177 National Assembly candidates, and Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, fielding 161.
Ex-cricketeer Imran Khan 's Tehrik-i-Insaaf (Justice Movement) has put up 132 candidates.
A splinter PPP faction led by Bhutto's estranged sister-in-law Ghinwa Bhutto has 66 candidates in the running, and the Karachi-based ethnic Mohajir National Movement has 55. Others are from smaller parties or are standing as independents.
The constitution requires elections within 90 days of the fall of a government. Leghari said the interim government he appointed to oversee the vote lacked time to root out corrupt candidates.
"God alone knows that if this had been possible within the parameters of the constitution, I would have done it without hesitation," the president said. "Who wants dishonest people to lord over Pakistan?"
An anti-corruption committee set up by the interim government could still move against dishonest politicians after the vote and oust any who win office.
Candidates sling accusations
Prime minister candidate Khan went to court Sunday to try to block Bhutto from seeking re-election. The move by Khan, a former cricket star making his first foray into politics, probably came too late to affect Monday's outcome.
But the lawsuit could result in Bhutto being barred from taking office if she wins, said Nasim Zehra, the spokeswoman for Khan's Justice Party.
Bhutto, arriving Sunday in her hometown of Lakarna, told reporters she had identified 63 voting districts where she believed attempts would be made to tamper with ballots.
Among them was the district in which her mother was running against her sister-in-law. Bhutto's mother is a member of her Pakistan People's Party. Her sister-in-law took over a rival party headed by Bhutto's brother, who was murdered last year.
Bhutto has also accused the interim government of planning to rig ballots in rival Sharif's favor, and threatened to reject the results if she wins fewer than 90 seats in the National Assembly.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Pakistani court upholds Bhutto's dismissal - January 29, 1997
- Bhutto vows comeback - November 8, 1996
- Pakistan president fires Bhutto, dissolves assembly - November 4, 1996
- Benazir Bhutto accused in brother's death - September 21, 1996
Related sites:
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- Dawn newspaper - providing live election results
- Pakistan Links
- Pakistan
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