"Pakistanis fearful, resolute as nation votes today"
"by Candace Rondeaux, Washington Post | February 18, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - .... Although Musharraf's presidency is not immediately threatened, he could be vulnerable to impeachment if opposition parties win a two-thirds majority. More broadly, the elections are being viewed by many people as a referendum on his rule. Musharraf's popularity has plummeted to a record low, not least because of his cooperation with US counterterrorism efforts....
Yeah, he's at 9%, but how much you wanna bet the opposition falls short of the two-thirds needed to impeach, readers?
There are also security fears. As many as 90 people have been killed in Pakistan in the past week alone in suicide bombings targeting opposition rallies, including a blast Saturday in the tribal agency of Kurram that killed 50 people. The bombings are believed to be the work of religious extremists, against whom the Pakistani government has waged a protracted war.
Yeah, "Al-CIA-Duh" always bombs elections!
CUI BONO?
The most prominent victim of those extremists has been opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, whose assassination less than two months ago in northern Pakistan led the government to postpone elections. Polls suggest that under the leadership of Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, her Pakistan People's Party will fare well today.
CUI BONO?
WHO would want to keep voters away?
Last week, an estimated 10,000 of the party's supporters gathered at a stadium in the eastern city of Faisalabad for a rally. Despite stifling heat, the crowd remained boisterous as Zardari, fist in the air, led a chant calling for his party to take a two-thirds majority in Parliament and oust Musharraf. Zardari pointed to a house near the edge of the stadium where several government sharpshooters stood on the roof with rifles at the ready.
"Do not be afraid of them," he said. "If we are afraid of them today, then our children will be slaves in the future." Many candidates, less bold than Zardari, have eschewed public campaigning because of security concerns.
Aftab Khan Sherpao, a former interior minister under Musharraf who was the target of two suicide bombings last year, said the risk was too great. "I ran most of my election campaign from my home because it's hard to go out and meet with the voters," he said.
CUI BONO?
Sherpao is running for a seat in the town of Charsadda, in North-West Frontier Province, as is his son. He expressed pessimism about people turning out to vote. "It's pretty hard to bring them out on election day because of the fear of suicide attacks and other acts of terrorism," he said.
CUI BONO? CUI BONO?
The government has deployed more than 50,000 security personnel at polling stations across North-West Frontier Province alone. To the southwest, officials in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan have declared all 1,122 polling stations to be at "high risk" for attacks.
CUI BONO? CUI BONO? CUI BONO? Polls, meanwhile, portend a strong showing by the Pakistan People's Party in Punjab province and in the southern province of Sindh. In Punjab, where more than half the country's 80 million eligible voters live, the party will be competing mainly with the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The two parties could form an alliance, though it might prove short-lived since their only shared goal is Musharraf's ouster.Analysts acknowledge that the possibility of vote-rigging makes predictions of any kind unreliable. In recent days, Western political analysts and election observers have complained bitterly about the ruling party's handling of the elections....
Yeah, THERE not HERE!!!!!
Pffffffftttt!
Even if some rigging does occur, the opposition parties are expected to capture from half to two-thirds of the 342 seats in the National Assembly.
Yeah, "even if some rigging does occur," OH, WELL!
That's the gist of the shit MSM account, isn't it?
They just TOLD YOU what the "official results" WILL BE with NO NEED to INVESTIGATE ELECTION FRAUD, right, shit MSM?
Pfffffffftttt!
Where is CodePink when you need them?
Anything short of that, analysts here say, would raise suspicions of major rigging and would probably plunge Pakistan into deeper chaos. The recently appointed army chief, General Ashfaq Kiyani, could be forced to order military intervention. Many opposition supporters have vowed to take to the streets at the first sign of rigging. Candidates, too, said they would contest the results if they appeared unfair."
Wish America's candidates would do that!!!
As it is, they just butt-prop and accept rigged screwings!
