Pakistan Elections Postponed, Despite Demands from Bhutto’s Party
Posted on January 1, 2008 - Filed Under Bhutto, Elections, Pakistan |
Media outlets and bloggers including Blogflict reported 48 hours ago that it was highly likely Pakistan would delay its January 8th election by at least a month. Earlier today, that report was confirmed.
The Election Commission of Pakistan will delay parliamentary elections for at least a month. The delay comes amid unrest following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The government plans to make a formal announcement Wednesday, the sources in the commission said Tuesday. The elections, originally scheduled for January 8, will take place some time in February, they said.
Opposition party members and Western diplomats said the decision to push the election into February was largely intended to deprive the two main opposition parties a huge sympathy vote after Bhutto’s assassination on Dec. 27.
Benazir Bhutto’s opposition party was against a delay in the January 8 elections, a party official said after government and electoral officials said the vote would be postponed. “We are ready for elections and do not want any delay. We demand elections be held on January 8,†senior party official Shah Mahmood Qureshi told AFP. “The government should stick to the schedule. If the government delays the election, we will call a central executive committee meeting to decide our future course of action,†said Qureshi, a committee member.
Sphere: Related ContentComments
Leave a Reply