Story here. Amid a climate of extreme political unrest and occasional deadly violence. (They were postponed from January 8 because of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.) Bhutto’s party is unlikely to win a majority, but an alliance with Nawaz Sharif’s party could pose a real challenge to Musharraf – if the votes are counted honestly. If there’s any suspicion to the contrary, more violence? Revolution?
See also Wikipedia.
Musharraf loses. What does it mean?
I understand in some primitive, backwater “democracies”, the loser can be declared the winner by a “supreme court”, even if he doesn’t get the popular vote. That’s a true fact, you could look it up.
According to TIME:
Musharraf is apparently going to play by the rules (at this point any way) and previous talking heads had questioned how much the military would support him any way.
How unstable/stable does Pakistan get if there is a fairly smooth transition of power?
BrainGlutton, you’re getting back into the habit of posting “town crier” OPs. Where’s the debate?
I’m hoping to see a debate by those who know more than I on this. How do the Islamist extremists respond to this? Are either of the two other parties capable of forming a coalition, let alone ruling? How does this effect the stability of Pakistan’s nuclear supply? How about their willingness to cooperate in diminishing the capability of various terror groups?
Seems like this election is great debate fodder. I just do not have enough knowledge to have a strong assessment myself.
The debate is not over the results – I think that was a foregone conclusion – but what happens next. The opposition parties have not merely won a majority in Parliament, they are now demanding Musharraf step down. But, by his earlier actions against the Supreme Court justices who opposed him, he has already demonstrated just how determined he is to hang on to power. But he has also pledged to abide by the results of the elections. So – what can he do with a Parliament that is not only in opposition but openly committed to his removal?
Neither the Pakistan People’s Party (Bhutto’s) nor the Pakistan Muslim League (Sharif’s) won a majority, but from the news reports they are dedicated to working together – against Musharraf, that is. Once he’s gone, who knows?
According to this, secular candidates have ousted religious parties in the northwest. That’s some encouraging news, at any rate.
What’s really gotten to me about the election is seeing the headlines referring to Musharraf as a “U.S. Ally”. Doesn’t exactly elicit a swelling of pride.