Pakistan presidential poll date set

Musharraf has seen his popularity plummet in recent months but is determined to seek a new term.

 

 

Your Views

“Pakistan needs a military leader who can control both civil and possible military extremism” Creative_person01, Islamabad, Pakistan Send us your views

His lawyer announced this week Musharraf would quit as army chief and restore civilian rule if lawmakers vote him back as president.

 

The ruling coalition remains confident that it has enough votes to re-elect Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup. His current presidential term is due to expire on November 15.

 

But the party of Benazir Bhutto, an exiled prime minister, whose talks with Musharraf over a possible power-sharing deal have stalled, has threatened to join other opposition parties in boycotting the vote. Such a boycott could rob the vote of some legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

 

Nawaz Sharif, another exiled prime minister who is a staunch opponent of Musharraf, was deported to Saudi Arabia recently soon after returning to Pakistan after a seven-year exile. Musharraf had ousted Sharif in the 1999 coup.

 

Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Pakistan, said that opposition lawmakers have threatened to resign if Musharraf seeks re-election. He said such mass resignations would push the country into another crisis.

 

Still, the main threat to Musharraf’s re-election plan appears to be legal, including over changes recently made in rules for the presidential election that would benefit the military leader.

 

The supreme court on Thursday was continuing hearing a raft of petitions, and a ruling on Musharraf’s eligibility for the election is expected within days.