Before the elections, Nawaz Sharif has increased the ante in the situation. Not only has he called for President Musharraf to resign from office, he also called for a formation of a government of national consensus. This could be an indication that government will postpone the January 8 elections due to violent chaos after the death of Musharraf’s other rival, Benazir Bhutto of the Pakistan People’s Party.
The government has not released a formal decision as it will wait until Tuesday. Election commission officials said that voting could possibly be delayed to the end of January or early February. The United States said that the elections should go on as scheduled.
After Bhutto’s assassination, Mr. Sharif said his party will boycott the elections. But he had called off the boycott and will participate in the elections. Both his party and the PPP led by Bhutto’s son and husband feel they can capitalize at the polls tapping into the sympathy of Bhutto’s death and the anger against Musharraf’s government.
While the Pakistani ambassador in Washington DC said that Musharraf will accept international help for an inquiry, the country will not accept an independent investigation by outside experts.
In a news conference at the Sharif faction of the Pakistan Muslim League headquarters, Sharif has called forth Musharraf’s resignation. “He is a one-man calamity and the source of all problems,” Sharif said. He added: “The country is burning.”
“The Pakistan Peoples Party will win seats, and we will defeat the Q League hands down,” Sharif said referring to Musharraf’s faction of the Pakistan Muslim League.
Sharif added: “Even if they try to rig, we will win. The atmosphere has changed against them. The courage to rig has diminished.”
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