Commentary
Direct democracy is the political wildcard in the state’s midterm election.
Mark Baldassare, Ian Klaus
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Source: Getty
In The Media
Tellis: An 'Absolutely Devastating' Result for Musharraf
Monday's elections in Pakistan were -- to use a timeworn cliché -- a political earthquake. Although the poll numbers were clear, very few Pakistan watchers expected that President Pervez Musharraf would allow the opposition to win in such a decisive fashion. In the end, South Asia expert Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told me, "There was a depth of resentment that not even the government's manifold efforts at shaping the outcome could prevent."
Published on Feb 19, 2008
Source: Foreign Policy Magazine blog
So what happens now? "With the quite utterly conclusive demise of the PML-Q," Tellis said, "the coalition that is likely to be formed will be between the PPP and the PML-N." (Referring to Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League, the Pakistan People's Party of the late Benazir Bhutto and now her husband Asif Zardari, and the PML-N of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, respectively.)
But what about Musharraf? "This result simply just cannot be good news for him," Tellis said. "I mean, this is absolutely devastating." Nawaz Sharif, you may recall, despises Musharraf for ousting him back in 1999, so there's little chance his party would want to keep the general around. The PPP is another story, Tellis said, and Zardari might be willing to let Musharraf stay on as president -- but with vastly curtailed powers. "I would not treat his departure from office as inevitable," Tellis cautioned. But for Pakistan, he said, the return of the moderate civilian parties represents "a very hopeful moment." Now we'll see if they can deliver.
About the Authors
Ashley J. Tellis
Former Senior Fellow
Ashley J. Tellis was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Blake Hounshell
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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