ISLAMABAD: The party of assassinated former PM Benazir Bhutto and exiled former PM Nawaz Sharif's  party are poised to form the next government of Pakistan, as Pakistanis this week decisively voted out the PML-Q backed by President Pervez Musharraf.

At the end of a historic Tuesday that virtually wrote the political epitaph for Musharraf, who toppled Sharif in a coup in October 1999, Bhutto's PPP was ahead at press time with 88 seats (of the 269 seats declared) in the 272-member National Assembly: short of an absolute majority, but a contender for the job of running the country. And in an ironic twist that is only too common in Pakistani politics, Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was also back with 65 seats — and the key to government formation. "PPP declares victory in all of Pakistan . . . (We have) won the elections with a majority. We demand to be allowed to make the government along with our allies," Bhutto's widower and PPP leader, Asif Ali Zardari told reporters Tuesday night.  Zardari also spoke by telephone with Sharif and the two leaders were expected to meet later this week to discuss power-sharing. Sharif told reporters that petitions against Musharraf's controversial candidature for presidency last year would be reopened. "I believe whosoever forms the government will restore the judges of superior courts to their pre-Nov. 3 position when they were sacked by Musharraf . . . and these judges will decide on his (Musharraf's) future." The Supreme Court was in the process of hearing a petition against Musharraf's candidature for the presidential elections when he imposed emergency in the country Nov. 3 and sacked all judges of the apex and high courts.

 Sharif said Tuesday that he was ready to talk to any democratic force. "I would even accept all leaders of PML-Q (Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid) into the party fold if they want to return to their parent party," Sharif said.

 

The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), which ruled the country with Musharraf's backing, trailed an embarrassing third with only 38 seats. The party planned to hold meetings this week to discuss future strategy. It did not rule out an alliance with other parties for forming the government. Musharraf, who quit as army chief in December before taking oath as a civilian president, told TV news channels: "There should be reconciliation, and nothing should be done in anyone's personal interest. I believe in politics of conciliation, not of confrontation." But if a new governing coalition manages to muster a two-thirds majority in parliament, it could call for Musharraf's impeachement. Said PPP leader, Zardari on Tuesday night: "For now, the decision of the party is that we are not interested in any of those people who are part and parcel of the last government.”

Musharraf has been a major U.S. ally in the "war on terror" but his popularity has waned at home amid accusations of authoritarianism and incompetence.

The U.S. State Department described the election result a "step toward the full restoration of democracy.”

Bilawal House, Benzair Bhutto's residence in Karachi, was the scene of much celebration as the election results trickled in earlier this week.

Ecstatic PPP workers and supporters arrived in droves from all over Karachi and began making merry amid blaring horns. Many broke into impromptu songs and dance and the rat-a-tat of rifle firing continued till the wee hours. Yousuf Raza Gillani, of PPP, terming the elections "historic" said it is "not a solo flight" and the PPP will need to “forge together with democratic forces” to take the country out of crisis. "The electoral process was flawed but still the pro-Musharraf elements lost. The making of the governments and reversing the changes made by Musharraf will be a complex affair but, in any case, the possibility of confrontation with Musharraf cannot be ruled out. Political uncertainty will continue for some time," Hasan Askari-Rizvi, a defence and political analyst, told IANS. Hussain Haqqani, former aide of Benazir Bhutto and now director of the Center for International Relations, Boston University, agreed.

"The regime had hoped to stop the opposition through pre-poll rigging but the popular sentiment against Musharraf is so strong that the tilting of rules didn't help the Kings Party. "This is a vote against Musharraf and establishment manipulated politics. It is a vindication for Benazir Bhutto's sacrifice for democracy and for Nawaz Sharif's decision to work together with Asif Zardari." - IANS with Agencies