News Update!
Will there be elections in Pakistan?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7199502.stm
So as you all should know by know Pakistani elections (originally to be held on Jan 8th I think) will be held on Feb 18th, but will they actually happen? That is the question…. Musharraf is in a tight spot no doubt, with the EU and USA breathing down his neck to have free elections, what should he do?
Reasons for Musharraf to let free happy go lucky elections go ahead:
1) He just might win outright over a bickering opposition. I have seen so many conflicting polls that I don’t think any reliable polling data is available, but by and large Musharraf still seems to have the support of many people
2) With the possibility of several major opposition parties boycotting, he could have perfectly fair elections and still get legitimately elected in the eyes of the West, which will keep the juices flowing.
3) If the West cuts Pakistan off, bad stuff will happen. China is an excellent example of how people really don’t care about political freedoms as long has they are living well. If the EU and USA stop aid, and impose tariffs the economy might stall and then he will have a real problem.
Reasons to not let the elections go ahead.
1) Wants to stay in power, that about sums it up…
Musharraf could also try to postpone elections again, but it would be risky, the EU and USA would increase pressure, and domestic turmoil would continue unless he can come up with a very good reason, such as a major terrorist strike, losing a nuke to terrorists etc. Something big
Bottom line, Musharraf would be an idiot for not letting the elections go ahead on the 18th. But that is just my opinion, bonus points for anybody who comes up with a good argument for why Musharraf should delay elections and how he should go about doing it.
Ok guys thats all for now!
shaayed khuda hona saath aap
WAZZER Per
And Remember : “Unity, Discipline and Faith”
January 28th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
There is a simple reason why the elections should be postponed, though Musharraf would definitely not agree with this:
If the elections are to occur on the 18th they won’t be fair elections. The country is in serious political turmoil, especially since Bhutto’s assassination. If the country can reorganize by the 18th and re-create an identity, then the elections should go on, but it won’t be able to with all the hostility.
Why Musharraf probably will go ahead with elections:
With the situation the way it is now, Musharraf won’t need too much vote rigging to give his party members victories, because no one will run against his party members as a “boycott.”
None the less, this poor country is now powerless, defenseless, in a downward spiral. I can’t see how Pakistan will recover.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Well, now I know at least one person reads the blog
I agree with you that it will be hard to have fair elections with a limited democratic tradition (i.e. voter intimidation is pretty common) and Musharraf will have a hard time ensuring that his supporters don’t try to mess around with the election results.
Insofar as the elections being “unfair” due to domestic turmoil I would argue that that would only be relevant if the PPP wasn’t boycotting the elections.
Next question to ponder, how far will Musharraf go to have free and fair elections???