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More On Pakistan Elections

By admin ⋅ February 18, 2008 ⋅ 83 views ⋅  Email this post ⋅ Post a comment

So, it looks like Musharraf’s Party (PML-Q) is losing. Will PPP and PML-N strike a deal? If they get 2/3rd of Parliament they are going to impeach Musharraf. Apparently, Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif had lunch and Zardari asked Sharif: “Do you want power?” and Sharif said: “Do you?” Typical. Anyway, Zardari alleges that he said that he wants Musharraf out and an independent judiciary. Funny thing is that under election law neither can be Prime Minister. Sharif’s got criminal charges. Zardari isn’t a graduate (you have to have an undergrad degree to be in Parliament in Pakistan).Islamists got a beat down. Maulana Fazlur Rahman lost his own seat in Dera Ismail Khan. That is incredible. You know why? Because in the 1970’s when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto won something like 80% of the vote, the one seat he wasn’t able to capture was one in Dera Ismail Khan belonging to Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s father. I think the real story of these elections is the Islamist loss (which by the way I said would occur if you look at a couple of posts a few weeks back). There’s definitely been a lot of rigging and a lot of women stayed at home, especially in the NWFP for fear of violence. However, it seems as if the terrorists succeeded in subduing the hardline voters more than any one else. The other interesting thing is that in the NWFP, traditionally the hot-bed of Islamism — this is the place where they previously tried to pass a public morality (hisba) law — the secular ANP Party dominated. 

Original Post at More On Pakistan Elections by Ali Eteraz