The Hindu : Parliament endorses Musharraf's presidency

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 02, 2004

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Parliament endorses Musharraf's presidency

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Jan. 1. Two-and-a-half years after he appointed himself President, Pervez Musharraf was today ``elected' to the post. The endorsement of Gen. Musharraf's presidency by Parliament and state assemblies came just three days before the SAARC conference.

In a way, the development has revived memories of hopes and expectations before the Agra Summit in July 2001. Observers see a clear linkage among the SAARC Summit scheduled here from January 4 to 6, the election of Gen. Musharraf as President through the democratic route and the desire of Pakistan for resumption of the stalled dialogue process with India. Three weeks before the Agra Summit, Gen. Musharraf had shown the then President, Rafiq Tarar, the door and taken over the office.

In the last few weeks, Gen. Musharraf has done everything to ensure the required support in Parliament and state assemblies. He sealed a pact with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), alliance of six religious parties, on his controversial amendments to the Constitution as well as his continuation in the Army. As part of the deal, he agreed to step down as Army Chief by December 31, 2004, and dilute some of the powers he had bestowed upon himself.

In a record six days, the Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali government not only gave shape to a constitutional amendment bill incorporating the provisions on which there was agreement with the MMA, but also managed to get it adopted by the National Assembly and the Senate.Political observers believe that deal with the MMA on several of the contentious issues, including military uniform, would not have been possible but for the earnestness of Gen. Musharraf. After all, a dispute between the Government and the Opposition on these very issues had paralysed Parliament for over a year.

Though it is nearly a year since Parliament was constituted, Gen. Musharraf did not address the customary joint session for fear of being shouted down.

Gen. Musharraf was deemed to have been elected President for five years through a controversial referendum held in April 2002. This was rejected by all political parties as unconstitutional.

Under the deal, the MMA abstained from Parliament and state assemblies on the motion for endorsement of presidency and thus ensured his election.

Only a simple majority was needed for its adoption and the ruling combine managed it without any difficulty.

Gen. Musharraf was opposed, overtly and covertly, by at least 459 members of Parliament and provincial assemblies who either boycotted the proceedings in the Houses or abstained from voting.

In the National Assembly, 191 members voted for Gen. Musharraf, while the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy boycotted the proceedings. As many as 150 Members of the National Assembly either abstained or stayed away.

In the Upper House of Parliament (Senate), Gen. Musharraf garnered 56 votes.

The complete results showed that 42 out of the 99 Senators abstained.

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Parliament endorses Musharraf's presidency