I'll contest election: Benazir

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, SEPT. 8. The battle of wits between the military government here and the former Prime Minister and chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Ms. Benazir Bhutto, has taken a new turn with a categorical declaration by Ms. Bhutto that she would contest the general elections.

In a clear message aimed at ending the speculations that she is prepared to bow out of the leadership race, Ms. Bhutto has not only announced her intention to contest the polls but also said that she would be the candidate for Prime Ministership.

The announcement by Ms. Bhutto has come amidst intense speculations in the Pakistani media about the efforts by the Musharraf Government to enter into a deal with her party under which Ms. Bhutto would have to nominate another person as her party nominee for the post of Prime Ministership.

A third meeting between the Pakistani military leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and a senior PPP leader, Mr. Makhdoom Amin Fahim, leader in recent weeks triggered the speculative reports about the efforts by the military to work out a deal with the party.

What is the need for the military to go for a deal with the PPP when Ms. Bhutto is not only on self-exile but is also facing several charges? Well, it appears that the military establishment has come to the conclusion that Gen. Musharraf would not be in a position to achieve his agenda in the post- election scenario without the cooperation of the PPP.

Unlike the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by the former Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif, the party under the leadership of the PPP has remain united behind Ms. Bhutto. Efforts at the Government and other levels to split the PPP have not succeeded.

More important in the just-concluded local bodies elections the PPP nominees have done very well. Though the elections were held on a non-party basis, most of the parties had put up their proxies in the election.

So it is only logical that in any future election, the general elections are promised in October 2002, the PPP would be a force to reckon with and Gen. Musharraf would require the help of the party in the post-election scenario.

Gen. Musharraf would need support of the future national and provincial assemblies not only to ratify the various actions of the military government but also to continue as President. Under the suspended Constitution of Pakistan, the President needs to be elected by two-thirds majority of the electoral college comprising national and provincial assemblies and the senate.

This was the backdrop against which the Musharraf government is believed to have begun the exercise for a deal with the PPP. The ideal situation for Gen. Musharraf would be if Mrs. Benazir Bhutto agrees to stay away from the race for premiership and agrees to nominate another person in her party who would have the blessings of the military.

But alas, the plan of Gen. Musharraf does not appear to be working. The only consolation for Gen. Musharraf is the statement by the former Prime Minister that she favoured a ``negotiated exit strategy for the Army so that the transition from military rule to democracy can be smoothly''.

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