(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Pakistan reacted positively to Pervez Musharraf’s resignation earlier this month, according to a poll by Gallup Pakistan. 63 per cent of respondents are happy with the president’s departure, while 15 are unhappy and 20 per cent are indifferent.

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 Nawaz 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.

On Aug. 18, Musharraf officially stepped down as president, just as an impeachment process against him was due to begin. In a televised address to the nation, Musharraf declared: "If I was doing this just for myself, I might have chosen a different course, but I put Pakistan first, as always. (...) Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the dignity of the nation would be damaged, the office of the president harmed."

Polling Data

President Pervez Musharraf has given his resignation. Are you happy or unhappy with this news?

Source: Gallup Pakistan
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 560 Pakistani adults, conducted on Aug. 18, 2008. Margin of error is 5 per cent.

Archive Search

Over 19,600 Polls
Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Polls & Research archive.