Pakistan’s governing coalition breaks apart
The governing coalition of Pakistan split on Monday after Nawaz Sharif, former Pakistani Prime Minister, pulled his party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), out of the government.
The coalition formed in March 2008 after the Pakistani general election failed to produce a party that had held a majority in Pakistan’s parliament. The group consisted of the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The coalition controlled 50.2 percent of Pakistan’s National Assembly and together held 15 of 100 seats in Pakistan’s Senate.
The PPP and the PML-N disagree on two main issues: the reinstatement of judges fired by former President Pervez Musharraf and a nominee for President of Pakistan in the Pakistani presidential election on September 6, 2008. Musharraf resigned last week. Muhammad Mian Soomro, as chairman of the Senate, became the interim President.
The PPP opposes the restoration of judges, who they believe invalidate the ruling which allowed PPP party leader Asif Zardari and his late wife Benazir Bhutto to return to the country. If the amnesty were to be nullified, Zardari could be indicted on corruption charges stemming from incidents as far back as 1990. Zardari was also accused of corruption in the United Kingdom but the case was dropped in March.
For the presidential election, the PML-N nominated former Supreme Court chief justice, Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, while the PPP nominated Zardari. Other people who have filed paperwork to stand in the elections are: Sakhawat Ali, Advocate Shakil Ahmed, Dr Mian Ehsan Bari, Ameer Ali Patti Walla and Mirza Asif Baig.
Backgrounder
A general election was held in Pakistan on February 18, 2008, after being postponed from 8 January 2008, the original date to elect members of the National Assembly of Pakistan, the lower house of the Majlis-e-Shoora (the nation’s parliament). Pakistan’s two main opposition parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML (N)) won the majority of seats in the election, although the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML (Q)) actually was second in the popular vote. The PPP and PML (N) formed the new coalition government with Yosaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
On 3 November 2007, President and then-Chief of the Army Staff Pervez Musharraf called a state of emergency. Elections were initially postponed indefinitely; however, it was later stated they would be held as planned. On 8 November 2007 Musharraf announced that the election would be held by 15 February 2008, later calling for the election date to be on or before 9 January 2008.[6] Even later, he suggested 8 January 2008 as the election date. Following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the Election Commission announced after a meeting in Islamabad that a January 8 vote was no longer possible and the election would take place on 18 February.
Following the election, Musharraf acknowledged that the process had been free and fair. He conceded the defeat of the PML (Q) and pledged to work with the new Parliament.
By-elections for 28 seats (23 provincial and 5 national) have been delayed numerous times, with most of them now held on 26 June 2008.
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