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Musharraf Has Little Support in Pakistan
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Three-in-four people in Pakistan are dissatisfied with Pervez Musharraf’s leadership, according to a poll by the International Republican Institute. 75 per cent of respondents disapprove of their president’s performance, up three points since January.
In October 1999, Musharraf led a military coup to depose then Pakistani prime minister Nawaz 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.
The president is elected to a five-year term by an electoral college comprising all federal and provincial legislators in Pakistan. In October 2007, Musharraf defeated former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed in a 671-8 internal vote. At least 85 opposition lawmakers resigned to protest Musharraf’s candidacy, and more than 300 others did not cast a ballot.
In December, Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto—who had returned to Pakistan after living in exile for a decade—was assassinated after an election rally in Rawalpindi. Bhutto was to take part in a parliamentary ballot originally scheduled for January 2008, but eventually postponed until February. Final results from that election gave the PPPP 120 seats, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sharif (PML-N) with 90 mandates, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) with 51 seats.
After the election, Bhutto’s widower and new PPPP leader Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N leader and former prime minister Anwaz Sharif agreed to form a coalition government. In March, Yousaf Raza Gilani—a former speaker of the National Assembly and former federal minister—was approved as prime minister.
Earlier this year, Musharraf dismissed calls to step down as president. On Jul. 11, Musharraf claimed that he would quit if it is in Pakistan’s best interest, saying, "Believe me, I would have resigned four months back, had it been to the benefit of the country and the nation."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Pervez Musharraf is doing as president?
|
Jul. 2008 |
Jan. 2008 |
Nov. 2007 |
|
|
Approve |
11% |
15% |
30% |
|
Disapprove |
75% |
72% |
60% |
Source: International Republican Institute
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 3,484 Pakistani adults, conducted from Jun. 1 to Jun. 15, 2008. Margin of error is 1.66 per cent.
