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Zardari has the edge in three-way presidential race

ISLAMABAD: The rumours that PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari would stand down from the presidential race proved to be just that, and of the three candidates in the Election Commission’s final list, he remains the one most likely to win.

Mr. Zardari did not withdraw his nomination papers on Saturday, the day fixed by the Election Commission for any candidate to pull out of the race. It was Mr. Zardari’s covering candidate, his sister Feryal Talpur, who withdrew her nomination.

Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, the nominee of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), and Mushahid Hussain Sayed of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) are the two other candidates in the fray, after Mr. Siddiqui’s covering candidate also withdrew.

Though the final list has been issued, there is still a provision under the rules for a candidate to retire. The rules say a candidate may retire from the contest through a notice in writing signed by him and delivered to the Chief Election Commissioner anytime before three days of the polling day.

With talks continuing behind the scenes between the PML (N) and PML (Q), there is still a possibility that finally only two candidates may remain in the race.

The PPP is also making efforts to woo the (Q) League, but senior party leaders are saying privately they are better matched with the (N) League, the parent party for many of them, than with the PPP.

But a patch-up between the two Leagues is not sufficient by itself to blunt Mr. Zardari’s edge in the contest.

The PPP leader’s candidature is backed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party and the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islami of Maulana Fazlur Rehman. At the moment, it gives him a slender majority.

A faction of the PPP led by Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, who left the party to join the Musharraf-PML (Q) regime, also said on Saturday it would support Mr. Zardari’s candidature.

While refuting the reports about Mr. Zardari’s alleged illegal assets and the mental illnesses claimed by him in court documents, the PPP has also hit out against Mr. Siddiqui. The state-run Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation and a private TV channel ran interviews on Friday with Sajjad Ali Shah, who was ousted as Chief Justice by the Sharif government in 1998.

Mr. Shah, who had to flee the Supreme Court for his life after a mob overran the court premises, alleged that 10 of the judges, who held office then, including Mr. Siddiqui, were involved in the plan to oust him.

After the removal of Mr. Shah, Mr. Siddiqui was elevated as the Chief Justice. He remained in office until the Musharraf takeover, when he had to quit after he refused to be sworn in on an oath of allegiance to the military ruler.

Mr. Shah alleged that the presidential nomination was the PML (N)’s reward to Mr. Siddiqui. He said Mr. Sayed, then Mr. Sharif’s right-hand man, was in the mob that attacked the Supreme Court building.

Reacting angrily, the PML (N) has accused the PPP of launching a “campaign of character assassination” against its candidate. Party spokesman Ahsan Iqbal told journalists at a press conference that despite “3,000 reports in the world media” about Mr. Zardari, the PML (N) was refraining from attacking him “despite so many opportunities.”

However, Mr. Iqbal did challenge the PPP to declare that Mr. Zardari would step down from his party office if he was elected President, as all previous Presidents with political affiliation had done.

“During General Musharraf’s time, the problem was that the presidency was being used as a party office of the PML (Q). If Mr. Zardari remains as the leader of the PPP, there are fears that once again, the President’s house will become an extension of the PPP. Will the PPP declare that he will quit his party office? The dignity of the office can only be restored by a non-partisan President,” he said.

Defending Mr. Siddiqui, he said future generations would hold him up as an example of a fearless judge who did not succumb to the pressures of a military ruler.

But the movement received yet another jolt on Saturday with the restoration of four judges of the Lahore High Court, who were willing to be taken back through a fresh oath of office.

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