New Delhi: As voting in Pakistan's general and provincial elections draws to a close, the incumbent president Pervez Musharraf said that he is committed to being politically reconciled with his rivals.
As he cast his vote, Musharraf told reporters that he is "willing to work with e everyone".
Musharraf had said that he would be a "father figure" to the country's new, democratically elected Prime Minister.
In an interview with Jemima Khan, the ex-wife of Tehreek-e-Insaaf leader, Imran Khan, Musharraf had described and downplayed his role by saying, "My role as a president is simply the checks and balances, the seatbelts... a sort of father figure to the prime minister." Jemima had interviewed Musharraf for British paper The Independent
Musharraf's remarks came in the wake of powerful indications that the PPP and the PML-N would sweep the elections. Independent surveys had earlier indicated that the Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid) or PML-Q, which backed Musharraf, was far behind in the running.
"I remain committed to the policy of political reconciliation in the larger interest of the country," Musharraf said, and swore he would not meddle in the electoral process.
Now that Pakistan and its elections have been under considerable international scrutiny, with three American senators in the country as observers, Musharraf has gone all out in making the appropriate sounds, repeatedly promising free and fair elections.
To that end, he had deployed a considerable force of 81,000 troops and over 4,00,000 police personnel to keep the peace on voting day.
Musharraf's military "help" did not reassure his rivals, PPP Co-chairperson Asif Zardari and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, who went all out to drive voters to the polling booths.
Zardari said he saw the voting process as an opportunity for Pakistanis to come together for the unity of their nation.
"I think we have reached the breaking point where if we don't band together we will lose this great nation that we call Pakistan today," he stated.
The PPP is banking heavily on a sympathy wave after Benazir Bhutto's assassination. At a rally held recently, party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari appealed to the people to vote in the name of Benazir.
“It is the present government which is the killer. It's the government, which killed Benazir. We will change the government. It’s the government, which is the criminal,” said Zardari.
Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif, ever since his return to Pakistan, has been saying that Musharraf would have the elections rigged. Though his view has not changed, Sharif, too, has been inciting his followers to turn out in large numbers to vote.
On Sunday, the PML-N leader said, "People of Pakistan today are fed up with this government, they want change. Tomorrow is the day for change and my request to the people of Pakistan would be to come and cast their votes, spare a few hours tomorrow, spare two hours, three hours, four hours tomorrow. Go to the polling stations and cast their votes and change the destiny of this nation."
Pakistan People's Party hopes to emerge as the single largest party, riding on a wave of sympathy votes, after the assassination of Bhutto. Nawaz Sharif's PML-N is behind the PPP nationwide. The pro-Musharraf PML-Q, that split from Nawaz Sharif is not doing well in poll surveys. There could well be a hung verdict.
Nawaz Sharif, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that he has no problem with President Musharraf.
“I have no personal vengeance or vendetta against this man. I don’t agree with his philosophy. He defied his own oath by coming into politics, which was wrong. The Constitution doesn’t allow it. However, there is no personal animosity,” said Sharif.
Voter turnout was, by some estimates, as low as 30 per cent out of grave fears of violence and suicide attacks. Several sporadic instances of violence were reported from across the country, particularly from Balochistan, Lahore and Quetta. There were incidents reported of bogus voting and booth-capturing. Polling was also shut down in several particularly sensitive places.
Pakistan Military spokesperson Major General Rashid Qureshi, however, did not regard those instances and said that the polling process was by and large peaceful.
"Though the voter turnout is low right now, it'll be fairly good by the end of the day," he stated.
Calling allegations of vote-rigging unfortunate, Qureshi said, "There have been a few incidents of violence but that is normal."
With inputs from PTI
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