The Hindu : Front Page : Musharraf wins presidential poll

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Sunday, Oct 07, 2007
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Musharraf wins presidential poll

Nirupama Subramanian

General bags 252 of 257 votes; results yet to be declared officially

— PHOTO: AFP

CONTROVERSIAL ELECTION: Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz casts his vote in the Presidential poll in Islamabad on Saturday.

ISLAMABAD: General Pervez Musharraf easily won another term as Pakistan President on Saturday in an election marred by Opposition resignations and a boycott and questions about the legality of his candidacy pending in the Supreme Court that prevented the official declaration of results.

According to unofficial results announced by Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Farooq after the count, Gen. Musharraf polled 252 of 257 votes cast by members of the National Assembly and Senate.He also won most of the votes cast in the provincial assemblies.

The former Supreme Court judge, Wajihuddin Ahmed, who entered the race to challenge Gen. Musharraf’s candidature in the Supreme Court, got eight votes from the entire electoral college.

Pakistan People’s Party candidate Makhdoom Amin Fahim drew a blank, his candidature remaining only on paper after he led his party’s boycott of the proceedings, notwithstanding party leader Benazir Bhutto’s deal with Gen. Musharraf on withdrawing corruption cases against her.Except in the Balochistan capital Quetta, a strike call by the Opposition parties grouped under the All-Parties Democracy Movement failed.

In Peshawar, a lawyers’ demonstration to the North West Frontier Assembly turned violent.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz described the holding of the election as a triumph for democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law, and the result a reflection of the true will of the people.

The Opposition parties, none of whom participated in the election, said there had never been a more controversial election in Pakistan, and described it as “unconstitutional” and a “shame” for the nation.

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