Pakistani opposition leaders were divided yesterday on whether to contest parliamentary elections under Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a day after he bowed to international pressure by saying he would end emergency rule ahead of the ballot.
Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said her opposition party would participate in the Jan. 8 elections "under protest."
"We're worried about the elections, we have our reservations, but we're going in under protest," Bhutto said in an interview. "We hope as we participate we can try and improve the situation," she said after meeting a US congressional delegation.
PHOTO: AFP
A close aide to Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister who heads a 33-member opposition alliance, said yesterday his group will try to win Bhutto's support to boycott the vote unless Musharraf reinstates the Supreme Court chief justice and other judges he sacked after declaring the emergency on Nov. 3.
"Nawaz Sharif will soon meet with Benazir Bhutto to persuade her that the entire opposition should boycott the elections, if Musharraf does not reinstates the judges," said Zafar Ali Shah, a senior leader of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party.
Musharraf had ruled Pakistan as a military dictator since 1999 when he overthrew Sharif in a coup, but he stepped down as military commander on Wednesday and has pledged to reinstate democracy. On Thursday he said he would lift emergency rule on Dec. 16.
An electoral boycott would represent a blow to Musharraf's stated intentions to restore democracy.
A US senator who met with Bhutto in Islamabad said his delegation was "encouraged" that Bhutto would not boycott.
"We know how important is that her party participate, we hope all parties participate," said Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican.
Sharif, reflecting widespread anger at Musharraf and political uncertainty that have undercut the president's support, has continued to urge a boycott as a way to demolish the election's legitimacy.
He says that Musharraf must reinstate the deposed chief justice and other judges who were purged for not backing him.
Musharraf on Thursday urged opposition parties to participate in the parliamentary ballot and help strengthen democracy.
"Anyone who is talking of any boycotts should hear this out: Come hell or high water, elections will be held on January 8. Nobody derails it,"he said.
Washington and London welcomed that announcement.
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