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Polls will be fair, on time: Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf pledged on Thursday to hold free, fair and timely elections after critics accused him of planning to manipulate the vote so he could maintain his grip on power.

In a televised speech four days before the crucial balloting, the retired general also said he was a firm believer in democracy — but not if it turned his nation into a failed state.

“Despite all rumours, insinuations and every type of apprehension, these elections will be free, fair, transparent and peaceful,” General Musharraf told a gathering of intellectuals here.

“There will not be any change in the election schedule.”

“I definitely believe in democracy,” said General Musharraf on Thursday. “But not if it leads to the country being declared a failed state. We have to tailor that democracy in accordance with our own environment.”

Thousands turned out on Thursday in the eastern city of Faisalabad to hear Asif Ali Zardari, who took over the Pakistan People’s Party after Benazir, his wife, was killed.

Armed police and bodyguards ringed the stage, and snipers stood on rooftops.

Mr. Zardari told the crowd the party would keep up the fight against dictatorship. “Our mission will continue until they kill me and kill you and every party worker at every house,” he said from behind bulletproof glass.

Though many have said fear would keep them from the polls, others said Benazir’s death only bolstered their resolve.

“If she can sacrifice her life for us, why can’t we do it for her?” asked Mohammed Sadiq (65), a retired factory worker.

The former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, a leading opposition politician, was among those accusing General Musharraf of planning to manipulate the polls.

“We stand for democracy. He stands for dictatorship,” he said as he travelled in his armour-plated SUV to a raucous campaign rally on Wednesday attended by about 7,000 supporters in the northern town of Kahuta.

“In order to survive, he has to rig the election. He knows that.”

He accused the government of buying votes and readying 1.8 million postal ballots to be cast in favour of the ruling party — allegations denied by officials — and warned that efforts to cheat would lead to “uncontrollable” unrest.

Opposition parties have threatened to launch street protests if they think the election was rigged — something General Musharraf said on Thursday he would not tolerate.

He also warned the media not to prejudice the results.

“We don’t know who is going to lose and who is going to win,” he said, adding, “There will be no rigging.”

General Musharraf questioned the authenticity of such polls and criticised those carrying them out, saying “don’t create problems for us.”

Clashes broke out on Thursday between the PPP and Geneal Musharraf’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Q) party during an election rally in Sanghar district, injuring seven, said a police official.

“Both the sides exchanged gunfire,” he said, and both sides suffered injuries. — AP

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