(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Pakistan are deeply divided on who is the best person to lead their country, according to a poll by ACNielsen and worldpublicopinion.org. 27 per cent of respondents think former prime minister Benazir Bhutto would be the most suitable candidate, while 21 per cent pick current president Pervez Musharraf, and another 21 per cent select Nawaz Sharif—another former prime minister.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in Pakistan are deeply divided on who is the best person to lead their country, according to a poll by ACNielsen and worldpublicopinion.org. 27 per cent of respondents think former prime minister Benazir Bhutto would be the most suitable candidate, while 21 per cent pick current president Pervez Musharraf, and another 21 per cent select Nawaz Sharif—another former prime minister.
Support is much lower for chief justice Iftikhar Chaudry, current prime minister and finance minister Shaukat Aziz, and Imran Khan, a former cricket player and founder of the Movement for Justice.
In October 1999, Musharraf led a military coup to depose then Pakistani prime minister Sharif. Two years later, Musharraf assumed the presidency. An April 2002 referendum—where less than 30 per cent of eligible voters participated—extended his term until October 2007.
In October 2002, the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) elected 69 legislators to the 342-seat National Assembly. Following a deal with the MMA, the legislative branch passed a controversial constitutional amendment which legalized the 1999 coup and gave the president the authority to dissolve the legislative branch with the Supreme Court’s approval.
In May 2005, Musharraf banned exiled political leaders—including former prime ministers Sharif and Bhutto—from taking part in the 2008 legislative election. Earlier this year, Musharraf reached a deal with Bhutto, and she will be allowed to contest the next legislative ballot with the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP).
On Oct. 8, Musharraf apparently won an indirect presidential election, although an official announcement is not expected until later this month, due to pending legal challenges.
On Oct. 18, Bhutto returned to Pakistan. As her caravan travelled through Karachi, two massive suicide bombings killed more than 140 people, and injured 450 more. Bhutto—who was not hurt—accused political foes of planning to kill her, and said she did not regret returning to Pakistan, adding, "The people who came (to receive me) knew that there would be a risk. They put their lives on the line. And I put my life on the line. And we did it because we believe in a cause. We want to save Pakistan. And we think saving Pakistan comes by saving democracy."
A parliamentary election must take place in Pakistan by mid-January 2008.
Polling Data
Who do you think would be the best person to lead Pakistan?
|
Benazir Bhutto |
27% |
|
Pervez Musharraf |
21% |
|
Nawaz Sharif |
21% |
|
Iftikhar Chaudry |
3% |
|
Shaukat Aziz |
2% |
|
Imran Khan |
2% |
|
Other |
7% |
Source: ACNielsen / worldpublicopinion.org
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 907 Pakistani adults in 19 cities, conducted from Sept. 12 to Sept. 28, 2007. Margin of error is 3.3 per cent.
Complete Poll (PDF)
