Musharraf intends to stay in charge

Pakistan’s president will not step down as head of state and intends to serve out his five-year term, his spokesman said, despite a sweeping victory by his opponents in an election that President Bush yesterday judged to be fair.

Final results from this week’s parliamentary poll were expected later yesterday, but with the count nearly complete, two opposition parties have won enough seats to form a new government, though they will likely fall short of the two-thirds needed to impeach the president. The result is seen as a major political setback for Musharraf, a key ally of Washington in fighting Taliban and al-Qaida, whose popularity has plummeted over the past year.The victors were secular political parties; Islamic hard-liners fared badly.Bush, the Pakistani leader’s chief foreign backer, declared yesterday that the elections were a “victory in the war on terror.””There were elections held that have been judged as being fair, and the people have spoken,” Bush said in Ghana during his current trip to Africa.”It’s now time for the newly elected folks to show up and form their government,” Bush said.”The question then is ‘Will they be friends of the United States?’ I certainly hope so.”European Union monitors said the election went better than expected, but conditions during the campaign period favoured the ruling party.So far, the parties of two former Pakistani prime ministers, the slain Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, have garnered 154 of the 268 contested seats, according to the Election Commission.The various parties already have begun discussions on forming a coalition government, likely to be led by Bhutto’s party.- Nampa-APThe result is seen as a major political setback for Musharraf, a key ally of Washington in fighting Taliban and al-Qaida, whose popularity has plummeted over the past year.The victors were secular political parties; Islamic hard-liners fared badly.Bush, the Pakistani leader’s chief foreign backer, declared yesterday that the elections were a “victory in the war on terror.””There were elections held that have been judged as being fair, and the people have spoken,” Bush said in Ghana during his current trip to Africa.”It’s now time for the newly elected folks to show up and form their government,” Bush said.”The question then is ‘Will they be friends of the United States?’ I certainly hope so.”European Union monitors said the election went better than expected, but conditions during the campaign period favoured the ruling party.So far, the parties of two former Pakistani prime ministers, the slain Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, have garnered 154 of the 268 contested seats, according to the Election Commission.The various parties already have begun discussions on forming a coalition government, likely to be led by Bhutto’s party.- Nampa-AP