ISLAMABAD, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) — Millions of Pakistanis defied bombings and shootings on Monday to vote in critical parliamentary elections that could threaten key US ally President Pervez Musharraf's iron grip on power.
The polls had been delayed by the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in a suicide attack in December, and they cap a year of political turmoil and bloodshed in the nuclear-armed Islamic republic.
In violence that began on the eve of the vote, six people including a candidate were shot dead and several small blasts near polling stations heightened tensions, despite the presence of around 80,000 troops on the streets to provide security.
Opposition allegations of widespread rigging have also added to uncertainty over the vote, which was intended to complete a transition to civilian rule eight years after Musharraf seized power in a coup.
"I am not afraid of bomb blasts... I am far less courageous than Bhutto but I would be ready to die to achieve her mission," Sakina Bibi, a 60-year-old supporter of the slain ex-premier, told AFP in the southern city of Karachi.
Voting in major cities began slowly after polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0300 GMT), with 81 million people eligible to vote. They were due to close at 5:00 pm, with the first results expected at about 10:30 pm.
The outcome of the vote will be watched keenly in Western capitals concerned about Musharraf's ability to tackle Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants based in Pakistan's tribal areas on the Afghan border.
In political violence, five people were killed in the eastern city of Lahore, including a politician from former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's party standing in provincial elections that are also being held on Monday.
Another Sharif supporter was shot dead elsewhere Monday, while bombs exploded in Pakistan's insurgency-hit northwest and southwest. Six people were injured when rival supporters clashed with sticks in one district, police said, and there were reports of clashes involving gunfire in several towns.
Opposition leaders have alleged that the polls will be rigged in favour of Musharraf's allies as the president seeks to prevent the possibility of a hostile parliament that could call for his impeachment.
Musharraf, who is not standing in the polls, has promised they will be free, fair and peaceful, and his spokesman Major General Rashid Qureshi dismissed the allegations of rigging.
"As spokesman for the president, I have seen the earnestness with which he has been working and trying to remove every hitch for these polls," Qureshi told AFP.
Police said they had arrested an electoral officer in southern Sindh province in connection with hundreds of missing ballot papers.
Opinion polls have tipped Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party to win, followed by Sharif's grouping, with the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q trailing in third place.
Musharraf has rejected the opinion polls, which also show his popularity slumping.
Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari and Sharif have pledged to hold protests if they suspect foul play. Both have said they suspect "massive" rigging in favour of Musharraf's allies.
They say a low turnout caused by fears of violence would make vote fraud even easier, but many Pakistanis said they were determined to cast their ballots anyway.
"I am scared because of all the bombings but I am sure Allah will protect me and all the people voting today," Saima Zahoor, a housewife clad in an all-covering burka, told AFP in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Voting stopped at some women-only polling stations on the outskirts of Peshawar after tribal elders decided that women should not cast ballots, police and officials said.
Campaigning ended grimly on Saturday when a suicide car bomber ploughed into a meeting of Bhutto's supporters in the northwestern tribal town of Parachinar, killing 47 people and wounding more than 100 others.
More than 90 people died in bombings during the week leading up to the vote.
The attacks highlighted the Pakistani military's ongoing struggles in the tribal belt, which has been branded by US officials as a "safe haven" for Al-Qaeda militants.
Musharraf and the US Central Intelligence Agency have accused a top Al-Qaeda militant based in the region of masterminding Bhutto's assassination.
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