People rejected religious parties and former ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) that was backed by President Pervez Musharraf as the early results were announced for 115 National Assembly seats out of 272. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's PML-N and assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) made big gains in elections that were held amid fears of violence and rigging allegations by the opposition against Musharraf and his allies.
According to the results announced for the 140 National Assembly (NA) seats, PML-N was leading with 52 seats, followed by PPP with 44 seats, PML-Q 17 and Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) with power base in urban Sindh got nine seats. Other seats were captured by smaller parties or independent candidates.
"Yes there was pre-poll rigging and it's because of that, the Q-League succeeded in getting a couple of seats," PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal told IANS. However, there has been no claim so far by PML-N to form the government.
In provincial assemblies, PML-N was leading in Punjab with 81 seats followed by PPP with 43 seats and PML-Q with just 36. In Sindh PPP was ahead with 31 seats followed by MQM with 24. The Punjab assembly has 380 seats.
In Balochistan PML-Q, however, was on the top with 11 seats in the house of 65, followed by Balochistan National Party (BNP) with seven seats. In the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the Awami National Party (ANP) was ahead with 27 seats followed by PML-N with 16 seats.
The election trend generally shows anti-Musharraf vote who said Monday that he will accept the results and is ready to work with any party. But Sharif, who returned to country seven years of exile, had repeatedly said that he would not work with Musharraf.
On the other hand Musharraf's another ally MQM chief Altaf Hussain was quick to announce support to PML-N and PPP in forming governments in centre and Sindh province.
Several top leaders of Musharraf-backed PML-Q lost in the polls mostly by PML-N in Punjab and by PPP in Sindh. PML-Q president and former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was defeated on both the NA seats including on his home constituency in Gujarat by PPP candidate Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, the electoral battlefields they have dominated for decades.
Six-time winner Sheikh Rashid Ahmed from Rawalpindi was defeated miserably by PML-N's Hanif Abbasi and Javed Hashmi where he ruled for over two decades. Former speaker of the National Assembly Chaudhary Amir Hussain was defeated by a female candidate Firdous Ashiq of PPP who had recently joined it after developing differences with PML (Q) leadership
Former defence minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal, a closed aide of Musharraf too lost his seat to PPP Sajjadul Hassan by a big margin. PML-Q's stalwart Hamid Nasir Chatta was defeated by Iftikhar Ahmed Cheema in Gujranwala.
Several former ministers including Liaquat Jotoi, former commerce minister Hamayun Akhtar Khan, former Minister for religious affairs Ijazul Haq have also lost their seats.
The polls were the final step in Pakistan's transition to democracy after eight years of military rule, and the results appeared to dispel international and national fears that the elections would be rigged.
"If the results are confirmed we will play the part of the opposition as effectively as we can," said PML-Q spokesman Tariq Azeem adding there is no reason for not accepting the results.
But another PML-Q official said that they were shocked by the results and accused Musharraf of betraying the party. "We never thought about such shocking results," he told IANS, requesting anonymity.
However, the results should be equally shocking for Musharraf, who left the army chief's position in December before taking oath as civilian president. Until a day before the polls, he was hopeful that PML-Q would win the polls. But now things could be really difficult for him with the parliament packed by his opponents that too by the party of man whom he sent into exile after overthrowing his government into 1999.
"His fate is in balance now...he may have to resign," the PML-Q leader said. Musharraf last month said that if the new parliament tried to impeach him he would prefer to resign rather to face humiliation.
In such a situation Musharraf's best option could be to woo PPP instead of working with PML-N, said the leader who was considered to be very close to Musharraf in the previous setup.
Indo-Asian News Service
A very busy Khan took out 15 minutes to speak to IANS over phone from Islamabad: Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Who do you think will be the next PM?
A: It's too soon to make such predictions, but I can predict a lot of street protest in the coming days. There has been unprecedented pre-poll rigging already and the battle lines are already drawn against the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q (also known as the King's party).
Q: What are your predictions for the Pakistan Peoples Party? Will there be a split soon? Is something like that in the air?
A: After the elections if PPP wins and makes a deal with the government, I suspect the die-hard stalwarts of the PPP, who still believe in Bhutto's ideology, will find it difficult to stay together. If they do not ask for the reinstatement of the judges, they are playing Musharraf's game; the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) will react strongly.
Q: But before her death, Benazir Bhutto was pandering to President Musharraf's wishes?
A: Yes, but she enjoyed that authority, her husband, Asif Ali Zardari does not wield the same acceptance.
Q: What are the chances of the PML-Q winning the polls?
A: If they do it will be the mother of all riggings because people are now voting for PPP or the PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz) out of hatred for Musharraf and his policies. The country is going through its worst turmoil - in the form of an economic meltdown.
Q: Asif Ali Zardari has warned of civil war if elections are rigged? Should this be taken seriously?
A: I believe this could well be the situation for Sindh if PPP does not win there. And if PML-Q wins, there will be the worst backlash ever all over the country.
Q: The results are somewhat predictable - a hung parliament or a weak coalition government. Is that the best plan or would you like to share a better plan out of the crises we are in?
A: Given the challenges we face now, the only one way out of the crises we are in is an immediate re-instatement of the judiciary, stop muzzling the media and bring the Election Commission of Pakistan under the protection of the independent judiciary.
Q: By whom, as Musharraf will not let that happen, he has made it plain?
A: This can be done by the chief of army staff, General Ashfaque Kiyani and Musharraf can make his exit.
Q: So are you saying that Musharraf can leave without undoing all the wrongs he has done? Isn't that letting him go off easily?
A: Well the longer he stays, the more damage he is doing to the country by his immoral compromises.
Q: Any face-saving exit strategy for Pervez Musharraf?
A: There can be an agreement that if he leaves now, Article 6 of the constitution (death penalty) won't be invoked. He will be assured that no harm will come to him if he gets off the tiger he is riding.
Q: What do you make of General Ashfaque Kayani's move of calling away all army personnel from civilian offices?
A: That was a move in the right direction, I must say. But he must now stop the killing of our people. It is exacerbating the situation and he must realise that there has to be a solution other than a military one to stop rising militancy and extremism.
Q. What have parties such as yours gained by boycotting the elections? How can democracy be served?
A: We are standing by the deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and boycotting the elections held under Musharraf's illegal Provisional Constitutional Order.
Q: Would you not have served the people of Pakistan better by having a seat in the parliament?
A: No, I would not have. I sat in the parliament for five years, which was a rubber stamp parliament and did more damage by staying there.
(Zofeen Ebrahim can be contacted at zofeen28@hotmail.com)
Indo-Asian News Service