Pakistan waits for poll date
ISLAMABAD (CNN) — The Central Election Commission of Pakistan said a decision on whether to delay parliamentary elections would be made on Wednesday following consultation with political parties.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, commission Secretary General Kanwar Dilshad said various provincial government representatives had suggested that the elections be held after the Muslim month of Muharram, which follows a lunar calendar and this year begins on or about January 9 and continues until February 6.
Elections are currently scheduled for January 8, but may change due to the turmoil following the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
The commission said it would looking at reports from provincial governments about the law and order situation in making its decision, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Election offices in 13 districts of Sindh province have been destroyed, Dilshad said. Sindh is Bhutto’s home province and was the main base of her support.
Bhutto, 54, was killed Thursday in a targeted attack that involved a gunman and a suicide blast in Rawalpindi, outside of the capital Islamabad. Her party and the Pakistani government dispute the cause of her death.
The ensuing violence has caused more than $200 million (12 billion Pakistani rupees) in damage.
Pakistan’s government described colossal devastation to the country’s infrastructure after looters burned more than 150 train cars and wiped out telecommunications lines along the north-south railways, preventing goods and services from getting to all parts of Pakistan.
The two leading opposition parties have demanded that the government press ahead with early elections.
Bhutto’s widower, Asif Ali Zardari, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he was confident the Pakistan People’s Party — which he has taken control of since Bhutto’s death — would be victorious in the January 8 poll.
Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, told reporters earlier that he believed Musharraf intended to delay the vote because his party would not garner enough seats in parliament to rule.
The United States has kept its distance from the issue, saying it was up to the Pakistanis to decide on the timing of the elections.
A U.S. Embassy official based in Pakistan, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the United States wants to see the election held, but if there is a postponement, we would not object to it.
The official said that if Pakistanis agreed on the need for a postponement, Washington would like to see a specific date.
Our greater concern would be if the elections are postponed indefinitely, he said.
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