Musharraf accused of running scared over elections

Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf was accused today of delaying elections to avoid defeat.

Opponents said they feared the move could lead to more violence in a country still shaken by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

The Election Commission said it had put back the parliamentary elections, originally planned for January 8, because of the turmoil triggered by Ms Bhutto’s killing.

The new date is not likely to be before the second week of February, but the exact schedule has yet to be published.

Many of Mr Musharraf’s opponents believe Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party would get a sympathy boost if the vote takes place on time.

“We reject this delay outright,” said the PPP’s Babar Awan.

“Musharraf fears outright defeat. If this election process is jeopardised, they (our followers) may protest again and there is a chance of riots.”

The killing of Ms Bhutto, a former prime minister, triggered three days of nationwide unrest that killed 58 people.

Ten election offices were wrecked in the violence and the Election Commission said it needed “at least one month to make arrangements to hold free and fair elections after the damage caused to our offices in the Sindh province.”

In addition the caretaker governments of all four provinces of Pakistan had suggested the vote not be held during the holy month of Muharram, from January 10 to February 8, because they could not guarantee security. Sectarian violence often breaks out between Pakistan’s Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

The party of another opposition leader Nawaz Sharif accused Mr Musharraf of wanting a delay to allow anger over Ms Bhutto’s death to evaporate.

“Right now they are the target of public hatred” said a spokesman.

Meanwhile, a top aide of Ms Bhutto’s revealed that she had been planning to produce a 160-page dossier accusing the government of rigging the elections.

Ms Bhutto was killed last week in a shooting and bombing attack on her vehicle as she left a campaign rally.