2002 Election rigging!

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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All the tricks of the trade

Accusations of dirty deeds are flying thick and fast in the run up to the Pakistan election, writes Rory McCarthy

Rory McCarthy in Lahore
Friday September 20, 2002

As campaigning begins for Pakistan’s first elections since the military seized power in a coup three years ago a serious dispute is breaking out over allegations of early vote manipulation.
Many opposition parties, government bureaucrats and journalists say General Pervez Musharraf’s military regime is trying desperately to build up support for the pro-government party for the October 10 elections by unfair means.

The main pro-Musharraf party is a faction of the last ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League, which is known as the Quaid-i-Azam (QA) group, named after Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah who is known as the Father of the Nation, or the Quaid-i-Azam.

One of the strongest complaints has come from local councillors who say they are being forced to back QA candidates in their areas. The councillors were elected in what were supposed to be non-party polls under wide-reaching local government reforms last year.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi was elected the nazim, or lead councillor, in Multan, a town deep in the fertile plains of the Punjab. Although Mr Qureshi had been a government minister under Benazir Bhutto, an opponent of the military, he soon became a favourite of the regime because of his eloquent support for the local government reforms. Last December he became the only councillor ever invited to address top-ranking army officers at the prestigious National Defence College in Quetta.

When in April General Musharraf held a referendum to endorse his position as president, the regime told nazims like Mr Qureshi to back the Yes vote and to release development funds for the campaign. “They wanted me to release funds to get people out to vote. But I told them I am bound by a budget and I have no authority to make ad hoc changes to it,” he said. “I was no longer very popular.”

Senior provincial leaders from the bureaucracy and the police suddenly stopped inviting him to their regular meetings with councillors and other nazims in his area. He was then reprimanded for misconduct after making a private three-day visit to Dubai, even though he paid for the trip himself. The case was later dropped.

After the referendum the pressure continued and councillors were told to back the local QA candidates as they prepared for the general elections.

“The authorities wanted nazims to be more inclined towards the PML QA. The impression that was being created was that this is the ticket to victory and that if you are on this platform you are made,” he said. Again he refused. “I firmly believe the nazims were supposed to be non-political,” he added. Eventually he resigned his post last month and will now contest as a candidate for Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party in the elections.

In an interview last week Mian Mohammad Azhar, the head of the QA, argued that nazims like Mr Qureshi should be allowed to take part in electioneering. But critics say all the nazims know their power came from the military government and they feel under pressure to support the military’s favoured party now.

“The nazims are part and parcel of politics,” Mr Azhar said. “They are all political people and thus should be permitted to participate in the ongoing election activities of the parties with which they are affiliated.”

He denied his party was receiving unfair support from the machinery of state. In the face of mounting criticism of the credibility of the election campaign Pakistan’s Chief Election Commissioner said this week any nazims or government bureaucrats found supporting political parties faced two years in jail.

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It is a no win situation for the govt. Which ever party loses will claim rigging. If PML does well PPP will claim rigging. IF PPP does well PML will claim rigging. Best thing to do is line up all the politicans and waderas and other fuedal lords and put a bullet in each of their heads and then divide the land among the people. Sure it will set back the economy big time, but hell it will be worse down the road.

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I really wish that this news is true.......I hope musharraf riggs them and puts the rite ppl in power.

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I hear this... I hear that

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'aaye haath uthaen hum bhi..
hum jinhen rasme dua yaad naheen..'

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Let us see what Gen. Aslam Beg says about rigging that is going to be there, and I am not surprised to see pakistanis well prepared for that and even commending Musharraf for that : -

Begsays Pakistan to face uncertainty, political chaos after polls

Islamabad, Sept 22, IRNA - Noted analyst and President of Awami
Qiyadat Party, General (rtd) Mirza Aslam Beg on Sunday feared the
country was heading for uncertainty and political chaos after the
October elections.
During an interview with “IRNA” here, Beg held the present
government and the mainstream political parties responsible for what
he termed as imminent political crisis the country was bound to face
immediately after the polls.
“I will blame the government for fashioning October elections
according to its liking while the major parties also share the blame
for not combing together their strength to pose any challenge to the
pro-regime alliance,” he remarked.
He opined that by forging election alliance for the sake of
revival of democracy, main parties such as Pakistan People’s Party and
Pakistan Muslim League could have been able to offer effective
resistance to what he called “the King’s party”(pro govt. parties)
King’s coalition partners, General Beg said, might not find any
potent hurdle in their way to reach the Parliament in the given
muddled up political situation.
Referring to reports of pre-poll rigging, he alleged that the
government agencies and representatives of the local government were
openly engaged in rigging in favour of the government-backed
candidates across the country.
In response to a question, AQP chief said that it was now a
forgone conclusion that the King’s coalition partners would be winning
the elections while mainstream parties might have to sit on the
opposition benches.
He expressed his dismay over inability of the major political
parties to offer a challenge to the pro-government forces, saying
prospects of return of democracy and a powerful parliament were very
bleak.
“There should have been cooperation at least for the elections
among PPP, PML and Mutahida Majlis e Amal,” he said.
MMA comprises major six politico-religious parties. General
discounted considerable impact of Ms. Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz
Sharif’s absence from the country on the upcoming elections, saying
the main reason for lackluster electioneering were some other factors
such as pre-poll rigging and Election Commission’s inability to stop
official meddling in the electoral process.
Both top leaders of PPP and PML are not allowed to return to the
country and take part in the elections for alleged misuse of power and
corruption.
“Their absence at this juncture is not as much damaging as are
other factors which should have been properly checked by the relevant
authorities at all cost,” he remarked.
When his attention was drawn to an assertion by Alliance for
Restoration of Democracy (ARD) that they might annoyance boycott of
the elections, he said that such a measure would also be of no
consequence.
“I think, boycott is a pointless option as anti-government forces
are destined to lose,” he remarked. ARD consists of PPP, PML and some
other parties.
In response to another question, he said the political parties,
opposed the government, were fully aware of their chances in the
elections.
http://www.irna.com/en/head/020922102223.ehe.shtml

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by CM: *
It is a no win situation for the govt. Which ever party loses will claim rigging. If PML does well PPP will claim rigging. IF PPP does well PML will claim rigging. Best thing to do is line up all the politicans and waderas and other fuedal lords and put a bullet in each of their heads and then divide the land among the people. Sure it will set back the economy big time, but hell it will be worse down the road.
[/QUOTE]

Brilliant ideas, kill the politicians, kill the waderas, kill the feudal land lords, and then kill Musharraf, all you have left are the fundos to rule us...

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Poodenay_Ki_Chutney: *
I really wish that this news is true.......I hope musharraf riggs them and puts the rite ppl in power.
[/QUOTE]

What else can be done or can you do, except hoping. And the pity is u don't find this state of affairs, annoying.

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Spock you think that after the death of all these people, only the fundos are left? Man you hold a low opinion of Pakistanis.

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Posting excerpts of this article…there is much more at the web site…take a look guys

How To Steal An Election…

By Zahid Hussain

For several weeks before the nominations were filed, Tariq Aziz, President Musharraf’s powerful principal secretary, had camped out in Lahore, wheeling and dealing with politicians. The country’s most powerful bureaucrat had an important task assigned to him by his military leader. His job was to knock together a pro-military alliance. Aided by Major General Ehtisham Zamir, the head of the ISI’s domestic wing, and the crafty Brigadier (retd), Aijaz Shah, a former ISI officer and home secretary Punjab, Aziz finally manoeuvered a list of " loyal" candidates for the National Assembly from the province. Most of them belong to the PML (Q) and the Grand National Alliance, but there are several others who, the military government believes, were willing to cooperate.

     "I was frequently summoned by ISI operatives and urged to join the PML(Q)," said a former Punjab assembly member who is standing in the elections as a PML (N) candidate. Others have had even worse experiences.

    Fulfilling his pledge, President Musharraf is all set to hold general elections in the country. But his government's credibility remains in doubt with widespread allegations of pre-poll rigging. While many opposition candidates were barred from the elections on very flimsy grounds, the military government has ensured that its favourites remain in the race. Ghulam Muhammed Mehar, a leader of PML (Q) from Sindh, produced a university degree within half an hour after he faced disqualification for being a non-graduate.


    Almost all political parties have rejected President Musharraf's move, maintaining that a military dictator does not have the right to change the constitution. They warned that the concentration of all powers with the president would leave the prime minister, the cabinet and the parliament powerless, thus creating its own perils. "An individual does not have the right to amend the constitution - this is the sole prerogative of the parliament," says Raza Rabbani, secretary general of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party. "It is unfortunate that the new parliament, even before it has come into existence, is under threat of dissolution." According to Rabbani, the imbalance of power was bound to fuel friction between the elected parliament and the military president, which will perpetuate political instability.


    Despite its declining support base, military authorities appear confident that they will be able to ride through, perhaps, the most serious challenge to their rule yet. They believe that in the absence of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, the elections will be restricted to local issues and votes would be cast on the Biradari basis. "That will help the traditional influential families in Punjab, most of whom have joined the PML (Q)," says a senior official. Public disenchantment with the civilian political leaders who ruled the country for ten years before the military take-over in October 1999, has helped the military to contain the situation , so far. Both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have been charged with corruption. The political fragmentation and absence of any strong and charismatic leader has also helped General Musharraf to counter any opposition.


    Most political parties fear that the military government might try to manipulate the elections, and this is bound to fuel public discontent. Even more worrying is the prospect that rigged elections will be rejected by all political parties. Engineered elections will undoubtedly unite all political forces and spread opposition to General Musharraf to all the segments of society.