Posted to findingDulcinea by Josh Katz
Asif Ali Zardari, widower of the late politician Benazir Bhutto, was elected president of Pakistan on Saturday, Sept. 6, taking 481 of the 702 electoral college votes.
Zardari was able to win despite corruption allegations in his past. Some call him Mr. Ten Per Cent "for the kickbacks he reportedly demanded from those wanting to do business with his wife’s government,” the Jerusalem Post writes. Others say he should be called Mr. Thirty Per Cent instead, saying that number is closer to the truth.
The politician with the questionable past now adopts a tumultuous country. The day after the election, on Sunday, a suicide bomber killed 35 people when a pickup filled with explosives “blew up at a police checkpoint on the outskirts of Peshawar, capital of North-West Frontier Province,” according to the Associated Press. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, just the latest suicide bombing in a country trying to find its place in the war on terror.
Reuters describes the reactions of various Pakistani newspapers to Zardari’s election: He “must dispel the perception he is an artful politician and urgently address a deteriorating economy and worsening militant violence, newspapers said on Sunday.” An editorial from the Dawn newspaper said that Zardari must shed the image “that he is a political wheeler-dealer who is adept at making backroom deals but unable to rise to the requirements of statesmanship.”
According to Reuters, many newspapers also agree that “an early test” will be whether Zardari follows through with his pledge to remove the presidency of the ability to sack the parliament. Zardari already wields more power than any other Pakistani president: “he is president as well as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He runs the Government through a pliant Prime Minister. He appoints the ministers. He makes policy. He has the power to appoint the heads of the armed forces. He can appoint and sack judges,” according to The Australian.
Zardari will also have to pay particular attention to the economic difficulties the country is facing, the publications argue, including inflation of about 25 percent, “dwindling foreign reserves, a widening current account deficit and a sliding rupee,” Reuters reports.
Find out more at findingDulcinea
Leave Your Comments