Related: Pakistan's Election
"Pakistan set for historic, unpredictable election" by Sebastian Abbot | Associated Press, May 11, 2013
ISLAMABAD — Despite a bloody campaign marred by Taliban attacks, Pakistan is holding historic elections Saturday pitting a former cricket star against a two-time prime minister once exiled by the army and an incumbent blamed for power blackouts and inflation.
The vote marks the first time in Pakistan’s 65-year history that a civilian government has completed its full term and handed over power in democratic elections. Previous governments have been toppled by military coups or sacked by presidents allied with the army.
Deadly violence struck again Friday, with a pair of bombings against election offices in northwest Pakistan that killed three people and a shooting that killed a candidate in the southern city of Karachi. More than 130 people have been killed in the run-up to the vote, mostly secular party candidates and workers. Most attacks have been traced to Taliban militants, who have vowed to disrupt a democratic process they say runs counter to Islam.
So my paper says.
The vote is being watched closely by Washington since the United States relies on the nuclear-armed country of 180 million people for help in fighting Islamist militants and negotiating an end to the war in neighboring Afghanistan.
Translation: the fix is in.
The rise of former cricket star Imran Khan, who has almost mythical status in Pakistan, has challenged the dominance of the country’s two main political parties, making the outcome of the election very hard to call.
I heard he was polling third after his "fall."
‘‘I think it is the most unpredictable election Pakistan has ever had,’’ said Moeed Yusuf, South Asia adviser at the United States Institute of Peace. ‘‘The two-party dominance has broken down, and now you have a real third force challenging these parties.’’
The election comes at a time of widespread despair in Pakistan, which suffers from weak economic growth, rampant electricity and gas shortages, and a Taliban insurgency....
There is concern that the violence could benefit Islamist parties and those who take a softer line toward the militants, including Khan and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, because they were able to campaign more freely.
After more than a decade in the political wilderness, the Oxford-educated Khan has emerged as a force in the last two years with the simple message of ‘‘change.’’ He has tapped into the frustrations of millions of Pakistanis who believe the traditional politicians have been more interested in enriching themselves than governing.
I never realized how alike Americans and Pakistanis are.
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"Nawaz Sharif claims victory in Pakistani vote; His party unable to win majority; violence kills 20" by Sebastian Abbot | Associated Press, May 12, 2013
ISLAMABAD — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared victory after a historic parliamentary election marred by violence Saturday, a remarkable comeback for a leader once toppled in a military coup and sent into exile.
The 63-year-old Sharif, who has twice served as prime minister, touted his success after unofficial, partial vote counts showed his Pakistan Muslim League-N party with an overwhelming lead. The party weathered a strong campaign by former cricket star Imran Khan that energized Pakistan’s young people....
Pakistanis voted in high numbers Saturday despite widespread Taliban violence, in an election that had historic possibilities for the country’s often troubled democracy.
Threats by Taliban rebels to disrupt the day were borne out in attacks across the country that left at least 20 people dead, including at least 11 in a bombing in Karachi and others in the violence-torn province of Baluchistan, where turnout was low.
Intensifying allegations of vote irregularities in Karachi, the nation’s largest city, led to the invalidation of results from dozens of polling places, Pakistani officials said.
Keep that in mind.
Record turnout was reported in several cities, and poll times were extended. It was a reflection of an energized political campaign season dominated by the battle between the party leaders — Sharif, a who has emphasized economic improvements, and Imran Khan, a sports star who became a political phenomenon on the strength of an anticorruption crusade.
Despite making much of their differences, both men hold basically conservative political visions, and both promised to rein in US influence in Pakistan.
It is like an AmeriKan presidential election!
The election was Pakistan’s 10th since 1970 but the first in which a civilian government that has served a full five-year term is poised to hand power peacefully to another elected government.
Unlike previous elections, in which the military’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate was widely accused of vote manipulation and intimidation, this one offered little evidence of involvement by the military, which has ruled Pakistan directly for more than half its 66-year history.
Even though there was a lot of it.
Instead, the country was gripped by election fever in recent weeks, most of it driven by the contest between Sharif and Khan.
Although Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N party was favored to win the most seats in Parliament, it was unable to gain a majority becaues of an aggressive challenge from Khan in Punjab Province.
Khan electrified the campaign in recent weeks with a series of mass rallies that tapped into a deep vein of support among young and middle-class Pakistanis in urban areas.
Public sympathy for the former cricket star rose after he fell nearly 15 feet to the ground at a rally Tuesday, injuring his back.
The results will also have implications for the United States, which has been enjoying a relatively peaceful stretch in its often stormy relationship with Pakistan in recent years.
Tell that to the people being missiled by drones.
Sharif, a conservative and oil baron, came to US attention during Pakistan’s tense confrontation with India in 1999, when the possibility of a nuclear conflict was averted after mediation by President Bill Clinton.
Sharif hinted oduring the campaign that he would seek to redraw Pakistan’s relationship with the United States and negotiate with Taliban rebels, although he offered few specifics.
Khan’s ideas were more defined: He vowed to end CIA drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal belt by ordering the Pakistani military to shoot down US aircraft if necessary, and he said he believed the state should negotiate with Taliban insurgents, not fight them.
That's why he didn't win.
The election evoked a rare sense of enthusiasm for politics in Pakistan. About 4,670 candidates fought for 272 directly elected seats in Parliament, while almost 11,000 people battled for the four provincial assemblies.
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"Former prime minister declares victory in Pakistan’s election" by Sebastian Abbot and Rebecca Santana | Associated Press, May 11, 2013
ISLAMABAD — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared victory following a historic election marred by violence Saturday, as unofficial, partial vote counts showed his party with an overwhelming lead.
If his victory is confirmed, it would be a remarkable comeback for the 63-year-old Sharif, who has twice served as the country’s premier but was toppled in a military coup in 1999. He spent years in exile before returning to the country in 2007. His party weathered a strong campaign by former cricket star Imran Khan that energized Pakistan’s young people.
Despite attacks against candidates, party workers and voters that killed 29 people Saturday, Pakistanis turned out in large numbers to elect the national and provincial assemblies. The high participation was a sign of Pakistanis’ desire for change after years of hardship under the outgoing government, and it offered a sharp rebuke to Taliban militants and others who have tried to derail the election with attacks that have killed more than 150 people in recent weeks.
But Khan didn't win?
‘‘Our country is in big trouble,’’ said Mohammad Ali, a shopkeeper who voted in the eastern city of Lahore. ‘‘Our people are jobless. Our business is badly affected. We are dying every day.’’
The vote marked the first time a civilian government has completed its full five-year term and transferred power in democratic elections in a country that has experienced three coups and constant political instability since it was established in 1947.
The election was being watched closely by the United States, which relies on the nuclear-armed country of 180 million people for help fighting Islamic militants and negotiating an end to the war in neighboring Afghanistan.
Passion and energy were seen throughout Pakistan, as millions of people headed to the polls, waving flags and chanting slogans in support of their party. Some were young, first-time voters and others elderly Pakistanis who leaned on canes or friends for support as they dropped their vote in the ballot box.
One man, Bilal Masih, even came to a polling station in the central city of Multan dressed in his wedding attire, saying his bride could wait until he voted. He decorated his wedding car with flowers and a stuffed tiger, the symbol of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party he supports.
‘‘I thought that this was my national duty,’’ said Masih, who was wearing a white and red turban and had garlands of flowers around his neck.
The Pakistani Taliban, which has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government for years, tried to disrupt the election because the militants believe the country’s democracy runs counter to Islam. The government responded by deploying an estimated 600,000 security personnel across the country to protect polling sites and voters.
Many Pakistanis seemed determined to cast their ballots despite a series of gun and bomb attacks against candidates, party workers and voters in cities across the country that killed 29 people Saturday.
‘‘Yes, there are fears. But what should we do?’’ said Ali Khan, who was waiting to vote in the northwestern city of Peshawar, where one of the blasts took place. ‘‘Either we sit in our house and let the terrorism go on, or we come out of our homes, cast our vote, and bring in a government that can solve this problem of terrorism.’’
Many of the attacks in the run-up to the vote targeted secular parties. That raised concern the violence could benefit hard-line Islamists and others who take a softer line toward the militants, like Sharif and Khan, because they were able to campaign more freely.
Many Pakistanis expressed pride that so many of their fellow citizens chose to vote.
‘‘More political activity means more awareness,’’ said Nasira Jibran in Lahore. ‘‘More awareness means more accountability.’’
The apparent victor, Sharif, is best known for testing Pakistan’s first nuclear weapon in 1998, and his party is seen to have a pro-business stance. He was toppled in a military coup by then-army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 1999 and spent years in exile in Saudi Arabia before returning to the country in 2007. His party came in second in the 2008 elections to the Pakistan People’s Party and is seen as more religiously conservative.
Sharif faced a strong challenge from former cricket star Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. The winner of the 1992 cricket World Cup tapped into the frustrations of many Pakistani youths fed up with the country’s traditional politicians.
‘‘It’s now our turn. We youngsters want our say in national affairs,’’ said voter Rubina Riaz in Lahore.
Khan suffered a horrific fall off a forklift during a campaign event Tuesday in Lahore that sent him to the hospital with three broken vertebrae and a broken rib. He didn’t vote Saturday because he couldn’t travel to his polling place.
Sharif countered the challenge from Khan by pointing out how much more experience in government he has and touting key projects he completed while in office, including a highway between the capital Islamabad and his hometown of Lahore.
‘‘It’s all about delivering,’’ said Nayyar Naseem, a voter in Lahore. ‘‘Nawaz Sharif has delivered. He is experienced.’’
The battleground between Sharif and Khan was in Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, where both parties appealed to urban middle class voters. The province contains nearly half of the 272 directly-elected seats in the national assembly.
The outgoing Pakistan People’s Party was expected to fare poorly in the election because of unhappiness with its performance leading the last government. The party, which rose to power in 2008 in part by widespread sympathy after the death of party leader Benazir Bhutto, has carried out what many called a lackluster campaign.
Their effort has been hampered by threats of Taliban violence and a lack of high-profile figures to rally the party. Benazir Bhutto’s son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is officially the party chairman and had been expected to play a high-profile role in the election. But he has appeared at few election events, and was out of the country Saturday.
The election commission said it was investigating reports of a lack of polling staff and materials, and threats to election commission staff in some areas of the southern city of Karachi.
Gee, the ELECTION FRAUD and VOTE-RIGGING sure was MINIMIZED in the FLOOW-UP ARTICLE, huh?
The election winner inherits a country struggling on a number of fronts. Pakistanis suffer from rolling blackouts that can be as long as 18 hours a day as well as a stuttering economy.
Stuff you rarely read about in my war paper because it's usually all about the Taliban and terrorists when it comes to Pakistan. No wonder the people are pissed.
The country is also battling Taliban militants who want to overthrow the government, while on the western border there are fears that a U.S. military departure from Afghanistan will send violence spilling over into Pakistan.
When the print and push such an outrageous lie what are we to think about any shit they shovel?
Sharif has favored negotiations with militants in the country’s tribal areas. That could put him at odds with the country’s powerful military. While Pakistan has been under civilian rule for the last five years, the military still is considered the country’s most powerful institution and usually makes the major decisions when it comes to militancy or foreign policy issues such as Afghanistan or India.
In what appeared to be a show of support for democracy in Pakistan, the country’s most powerful military officer, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, went to the voting booth himself instead of mailing in his ballot. His gesture was broadcast live of local TV.
They must be happy with the results then.
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"Former Pakistani leader returns to power; Apparent victory leaves questions about extremism" by Sebastian Abbot | Associated Press, May 13, 2013
LAHORE, Pakistan — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif looked poised Sunday to return to office with a resounding election victory — a mandate that could make it easier to tackle the country’s daunting problems, including growing power outages, weak economic growth, and shaky government finances.
Questions remain, however, about Sharif’s stance on another key issue: violent Islamic extremism. Critics have accused his party of being soft on radicals because it hasn’t cracked down on militant groups in its stronghold of Punjab Province.
That could be a concern for the United States....
President Obama said on Sunday that Pakistanis upheld their commitment to democratic rule by successfully completing the parliamentary election.
I resent him offering his opinion on Pakistani democracy, and I'm an American!
With the weekend vote, the Parliament was able to complete its term and transfer power in democratic elections for the first time since Pakistan’s founding in 1947. Obama called it an “historic peaceful and transparent transfer of civilian power.’’
The president said Pakistanis persevered despite ‘‘intimidation by violent extremists.’’
The Pakistani Taliban, which has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government, tried to derail the election with attacks.
More than 150 people were killed with guns and bombs in the run-up to the election, including 29 on election day.
But the turnout was nearly 60 percent, the highest in more than 40 years, the election commission said.
Sharif has called for negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban but hasn’t said clearly whether he thinks army operations against the militants should continue until peace is achieved.
His party, which has ruled Punjab for the past five years, has not taken any clear action against the powerful Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group based in that province.
In addition to civil disorder, Pakistan is facing a growing energy crisis, with some areas experiencing power outages for up to 18 hours a day.
That has seriously hurt the economy, pushing growth below 4 percent a year. The country needs a growth rate of twice that to provide jobs for its expanding population of 180 million.
Ballooning energy subsidies and payments to keep failing public enterprises afloat have steadily eaten away at the government’s finances, forcing the country to seek another unpopular bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
That's not going to help.
Pakistan also has an ineffective tax system, depriving the government of funds.
It means the wealthy loot the nation, like in this country, 'murkn.
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What I noticed was NO MENTION of KHAN at all!
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
Looks like I'm not alone in my interpretation of the result:
Supporters of candidate Imran Khan shouted slogans accusing officials of election fraud in Faisalabad, Pakistan (Ilyas Sheikh/EPA).
"Ex-Pakistani leader forms government as votes tallied; Finance minister named; protests allege fraud" by Declan Walsh | New York Times, May 14, 2013
LONDON — Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister, moved confidently to form a government in Pakistan on Monday, announcing the next finance minister even as votes from Saturday’s election were still being tallied and protests continued over alleged vote rigging in some cities.
Sharif’s confidence stemmed from his resounding electoral victory, which confounded analysts’ predictions of a stronger showing for his rival, the former cricket star Imran Khan.
Although the count will not be finalized for several days, projections now give Sharif a near-majority of seats in Parliament.
Sharif’s spokesman said he would appoint Ishaq Dar, who served as finance minister twice in the 1990s, to the finance portfolio — a critical job in a country suffering from sharp economic decline that is likely to necessitate a bailout from the International Monetary Fund....
Oh, the BANKERS WON THIS ONE, huh?
Sharif, a former steel baron and a fiscal conservative, is seen as favoring free market economics and deregulation....
The news triggered a rally on Pakistan’s main stock exchange in Karachi that pushed its index to a record high....
Khan’s party has also made accusations of vote rigging, particularly in the port city of Karachi. Several parties, including Khan’s, have accused the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which has dominated the city’s politics for decades, sometimes through thuggish behavior, of employing intimidation and delaying tactics at polling stations Saturday.
On Monday, hundreds of supporters from the Muttahida Deeni Mahaz, an alliance of religious parties, joined a protest rally against rigging in Karachi.
Khan’s party said it would hold a major demonstration on Shahrah-e-Faisal, the city’s main traffic artery.
Khan’s supporters also protested in Lahore. Hamid Khan, who lost to Sharif’s candidate in a wealthy neighborhood, threatened to take his appeal to the Supreme Court.
“We will not allow rigging,” he told supporters at a demonstration.
The furor over vote rigging highlighted a phenomenon in Pakistani politics: the emergence of social media as a tool of electoral mobilization and protest....
Now I sense the agenda-pushing intelligence operation of being involved in a destabilization campaign even as ordinary Pakistanis have their say.
Or maybe the newspaper is just acknowledging the obvious. Everyone in the world can see what they are.
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UPDATES:
"The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party led by former cricket star Imran Khan won 26 seats, which is a huge improvement for a party that boycotted the 2008 election and only claimed one seat in the 2002 vote. Khan’s supporters have protested the vote as unfair, and the cricket star has alleged vote-rigging in the port city of Karachi and in Punjab Province. Many of the young people who have come out to vote for Khan have also taken to the streets in recent days in protests in Karachi and Islamabad calling for recounts and new elections in many areas. But many election observers who monitored the vote have said it was relatively fair."
Relative to what? As the article shows you, the AmeriKan government and its mouthpiece media approve of this rigging and is now validating it.
Related: Nawaz Sharif Says US Should Halt Pakistan Drone Strikes
No. my Globe had NOTHING ABOUT THAT!
