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Pakistan awaits court ruling on Musharraf's eligibility

Pakistan entered political limbo yesterday, caught between President Pervez Musharraf's presidential election win and a future court ruling on whether he was even eligible to run.

Musharraf on Saturday scored an overwhelming victory in a ballot of lawmakers boycotted by much of the opposition in protest against him. The country must now wait at least 10 days for the Supreme Court to either confirm the result or disqualify Musharraf because of his retention of his powerful role as army chief.

While many observers doubt that the judges will dare to rule against Musharraf, the Nation newspaper printed a cartoon yesterday showing Musharraf frowning toward the Supreme Court, his fingers crossed behind his back.

"The government cannot afford to take the courts for granted," an editorial in the daily said.

Musharraf won 671 votes on Saturday, while a retired judge who was his main rival received just eight. In all, 1,170 federal and provincial lawmakers were eligible to vote.

He dismissed criticism that the boycott had undermined the legitimacy of the poll, saying: "Democracy means majority, whether there is opposition or no opposition ... A majority, a vast majority, have voted for me."

Also see story:
Pakistan and Myanmar: A tale of two military dictatorships

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