Opposition parties branded Pakistani polls fraudulent today and ex-premier Benazir Bhutto called for fresh elections after slow counting put a pro-government party surging ahead and radical Islamic parties won a shock landslide inconservative border areas.
"These are not real results. I'm charging fraud. It's a totally fraudulent, manipulated result," Ms Bhutto said in a telephone interview from London.
"We are calling for re-election under an independent administration and a transparent electoral process as well as a transparent vote country.
"I'm sorry to say vote counting was not done in a transparent manner. The regime engineered changes in the night," said Ms Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party (PPP) had won 39 seats at the latest count.
By 2 p.m. Irish time the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), brandedthe King's party because of its closeness to President Pervez Musharraf was leading the count with 54 of almost 170 seats announced so far.
The other chief opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had secured 12. PML-N also cried foul.
"It is all arranged and pre-planned," the party's senior vicepresident Syed Zafar Ali Shah said.
"It is not a public mandate and it does not represent the choiceof the Pakistani nation. It was arranged by the state and we are notconvinced."
The Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance of six radicalIslamic parties fiercely opposed to the US-led war on terror sweptthe North West Frontier Province (NWFP), clinching 34 nationalassembly seats.
With 12.5 per cent of federal seats they were set to hold thebalance of power in the future parliament, and control NWFP'sprovincial legislature.
AFP