Counting begins in Pakistan elections

Counting began today after an election in Pakistan that could result in a parliament set on driving President Pervez Musharraf from power.

The former army chief called for reconciliation after casting his vote in the city of Rawalpindi, where opposition leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27th.

The vote for a new National Assembly and provincial assemblies was to have been held early last month, but was delayed because of Ms Bhutto's assassination.

Results are expected to start emerging by tonight and trends should be clear by tomorrow morning.

The death of Ms Bhutto raised concern about stability in the nuclear-armed state. More than 450 people have died in militant-related violence this year. Fear of more violence kept many Pakistanis away from the polls, despite 80,000 troops backing up police.

An intelligence official said 11 people have been killed, seven in Punjab province, and 70 wounded in election violence since voting began.

In Ms Bhutto's home province of Sindh, Home Secretary Arif Ali Khan said two people had been killed and 50 wounded in poll-related incidents. "This is almost insignificant," said Khan, while expressing sorrow over the deaths.

Mr Musharraf, who came to power in a coup in 1999, pledged to work with the victors to build democracy in a country that has alternated between civilian and army rule throughout its 60-year history.

"We must come out of this confrontationalist approach and get into a conciliatory mode. I myself will remain committed to a politics of reconciliation with everyone," he said at a polling station in

Rawalpindi. "As a president in the centre, I would like to work amicably in a reconciliatory mode with whosoever becomes prime minister."

Mr Musharraf's popularity plunged over the past year because of his manoeuvres to hold on to power, which included purging the judiciary and six weeks of emergency rule.

Asif Ali Zardari, widower of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, casts his vote today

Many Pakistanis also blame the government for rising prices, food shortages and frequent power cuts.

Two public opinion surveys have suggested that if the election is fair, Ms Bhutto's party will finish first, followed by another opposition party led by ex-premier Nawaz Sharif. The pro-Musharraf party - the Pakistani Muslim League-Q - is trailing third.

Anti-Musharraf politicians repeated charges yesterday that the government plans to rig the balloting in favour of the ruling party. These were denied by officials.

Agencies