'This Election Is a Joke': Wary Pakistanis Vote

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Feb 18, 2008 — -- Two men, each dressed in a long, brown "shalwar kameez," the traditional wear of the subcontinent, stopped us on their walk back from a polling station in a village outside Rawalpindi.

"The PML-Q is intimidating people," the men said, referring to the political party of President Pervez Musharraf.

The president's name is nowhere on the ballot — these elections are for provincial and national assemblies only — but the vote has become, in large part, a referendum on his authority.

"Many people do not like Musharraf," one man told us. "With Musharraf, free and fair elections are not possible."

Manipulation is part of Pakistan's electoral history and many here told us they expected the results to be rigged.

"The U.S. position has been clear with the government, with the election commission and with the political parties,' said U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson. "We expect a free and fair election."

The United States paid for the training of thousands of election observers. Three U.S. senators and a congresswoman monitored the vote.

"There needs to be the surety of transparency," said Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Houston. "We want to make sure we know that every ballot that was put in was really the ballot of an individual that cast their vote."

Musharraf cast his vote in Rawalpindi and told state television he would give "full cooperation" to the political party that wins.

The election is meant to bring stability and some democracy to a country steeped in political crisis marked by emergency rule, the arrest of Musharraf's opponents and a series of suicide attacks most notably the one that lead to the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Hundreds have been killed in pre-election violence, including nearly 50 people in a suicide bombing outside a campaign office Saturday. Turnout was light. Fear of violence kept many people away from the polls despite the presence of nearly a half-million soldiers and police.

"This election is a joke," one farmer told us. "There is nothing left of this country."

Pakistan media reported scattered instances of violence across the country, including the fatal shooting of an assembly candidate.

Rising militancy in Pakistan's tribal areas is what concerns the United States the most. Musharraf has been seen as part of the solution but so far he has been ineffective at stopping terrorism. His attempts have caused resentment among his people. Analysts say the elected parliament is unlikely to do America's bidding.

"The United States will have to understand that the political government is going to try a mix of political negotiations and force where necessary. And probably a greater emphasis on negotiations," said Hamayun Khan, a retired Pakistani diplomat.

Pakistanis we met were less interested in terrorism and more concerned with electricity shortages, inadequate medicine and rising food prices.

"We are poor," one man told us. "Sugar, lentils, oil is all too expensive. All I have is 3,000 rupees a month [about $50]. You can't do anything with this."