Pakistani opposition claims two-thirds majority in parliament
George Bush has made it abundantly clear ever since the elections in Pakistan that his man is Musharraf and that he wants his man to stay put, despite the fact that Musharraf's party were soundly beaten at the polls.
The man who sacked dozens of judges, suspended the constitution, and jailed political opponents before having himself reinstated as President for another five year term bizarrely continues to have the support of the US president, the man who says he wants to export democracy.
However, the fly in the ointment for both Bush and Musharraf is the sheer size of the defeat which Musharraf has suffered.
Pakistan's election-winning opposition parties claimed Wednesday their incoming parliament coalition had secured a two-third majority, which would enable them to amend the constitution and also attempt to impeach embattled President Pervez Musharraf.Musharraf has amended the constitution to legalize his moves, but now the newly elected parties have won enough power to change the constitution themselves. Which means, if they choose, they could begin moves to impeach Musharraf.
Musharraf has attempted to persuade Zardari and the PPP to form a coalition with the former ruling PML-Q, but he has so far had little success, with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif calling for him to stop delaying and to open parliament."We have the support of 177 members out of 265 contested seats," Ahsan Iqbal, a PML-N spokesman, said after Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, the PPP co-chairman, and ANP chief Asfand Yar Wali, held a triumphant nationally-televised meeting at a central Islamabad hotel.
Bhutto and Sharif's parties finished one-two in the February 18 election, while the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, Musharraf's political backers, finished a distant third and was relegated to the opposition.
The winning parties agreed that the PPP will choose the next prime minister - likely party vice chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim - and will also be the lead party in the next government.
"We are going to support each other without any personal motives, without any personal interests," Sharif, once a bitter political rival of the Bhutto family, said. "We will make sure that we stay united, and united we defeat dictatorship."
Zardari, Bhutto's widower husband, urged unity among the new ruling coalition and said the election win by democratic forces was the result of sacrifices made by his wife, a former two-time prime minister who was assassinated in a gun and suicide bomb attack last December 27.
"Democracy is the last gift of Benazir Bhutto. She was the flag bearer of democracy," he said. "We are all one party today. We have joint responsibility, a joint agenda."
Buah can huff and puff, but there is every indication that, in Pakistan, someone is about to blow his house down. One by one, parliament is probably about to strip Musharraf of all his constitutional powers.
It's very strange that, for a man who claims he loves democracy, every time Bush insists that a nation goes to the polls, the people in question always appear to want the polar opposite of what he wants.
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2 comments:
The people of Pakistan seem to have very short term memories in bringing the same people back whom they were praying a few years back to get rid off somehow. In the past, during democratic rule in the country, people had witnessed stranglehold on freedom of speech. There was hue and cry in public over illicit money grabbing by the politicians. After completion of five year tenure of government of President Musharraf no one ever held him responsible for money grabbing, not even opposition parties. What a wonderful quality which we all seem to overlook.
No-one has ever accused Musharraf of money grabbing, but you've set the bar very low if that constitutes a reason as to why he should be supported.
He's sacked judges, suspended the constitution and jailed his opponents. Hmmm, wonder why that didn't win him support in a democratic election?
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