|
Uncle Fester barred from January vote
 Pakistan's Election Commission barred former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday from a January 8 general election because of his criminal record but he did not rule out his party's participation in the vote.Hours after his disqualification, Sharif met another former prime minister and opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto. They said they would present the government demands to ensure a fair election and their parties' participation. A united opposition boycott would rob the vote of credibility and prolong instability in the nuclear-armed country that is crucial to U.S. efforts to fight al Qaeda and bring peace to neighboring Afghanistan. Sharif, a two-time prime minister overthrown in 1999 by the then army chief, Pervez Musharraf, has threatened to boycott the January 8 election but had nonetheless registered to run. He brushed off his disqualification by an election official who cited his convictions and vowed to fight on against what he called dictatorship. "Let them reject the nominations ... 10 times or even 100 times. I will serve the people with much more vigor and resolve," he told his supporters in Islamabad. Sharif, who returned from seven years of exile on November 25, says the convictions secured against him in the wake of his removal were politically motivated. The constitution bars convicted people from running for parliament. Sharif's party said the disqualification was the result of pressure on election officials by President Musharraf. Posted by: Fred 2007-12-04 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=211259 |