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Pakistan Polls may be delayed

DW staffJanuary 1, 2008

The government in Pakistan is likely to postpone forthcoming elections by more than a month. The election commission says that holding parliamentary elections as scheduled on January the 8th doesn’t seem possible due to violence following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last week. The new poll date is likely to be announced on Wednesday.

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Angry protests in the wake of Bhutto’s death
Angry protests in the wake of Bhutto’s deathImage: AP

The election commission of Pakistan says that many of its offices and election material in Sindh, Bhutto's home province, have been burnt in violence after her assassination. Speaking with reporters Kanwar Dilshad, a spokesman of the election commission said it was impossible to hold elections on January the 8th:

“The election commission of Pakistan has decided that the political parties may be consulted. So after the consultation with the political parties the date of the poll will be decided.”

Opposition parties reject election delay

But the country's two main opposition parties - Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz - have warned against any delay in elections. They say a delay will work in favour of the pro- Musharraf party. In a television interview, Pakistan People’s Party’s new co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, said the party has no objection to holding elections on schedule:

“We are not asking for postponement. Our demand is elections on time, as promised, free, fair elections. We demand that all precautions be taken and elections to be held.”

Bhutto’s party hopes to gain sympathy votes and believes that it could sweep the elections if they were held on schedule. Analysts expect the vote to be postponed until late February. But many warn that a delay could lead to more violence and deepen the country’s year-long political crisis.

Murder Mystery Continues

Meanwhile the mystery surrounding Benazir Bhutto’s death remains unsolved. The government has blamed an al Qaeda-linked militant, Baitullah Mehsud, for the attack. It has also claimed that Bhutto died of a skull fracture after hitting her head on the sunroof lever of the car as she tried to duck following gunshots.

However Bhutto’s party has clearly dismissed the government’s version. They say their leader had died after being shot in the head and that the government is trying to cover up the incident. New Video footage seems to lend support to their claim.

A party official also claims that Bhutto had evidence against Pakistani intelligence and electoral officials, hinting at their involvement in rigging the upcoming elections. According to Latif Khosa, a leader from PPP, Bhutto was planning to meet two US lawmakers to give them a 160-page report containing proof of pre-poll rigging on the day she was assassinated.