67% in Pak want Musharraf to go: US poll

The poll was conducted by the International Republican Institute, a nonprofit group based in Washington that is affiliated with the Republican Party and promotes democracy abroad.

Pakistan’s two main opposition leaders, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif are already accusing Musharraf of fixing the vote in advance and vowing protests if he prevails. “If elections are rigged, we are going to need to be in a position like the people of Ukraine were, to protest those elections,” Bhutto said at a news conference last week. “A plan is under way to rig the elections, and to stop progress towards democracy.”

Two-thirds of those surveyed “expressed anger at the current state of affairs, desired change and were anti-Musharraf,” the institute said. And one-third “remained supportive of Musharraf and were positive about the condition of the country.”

An American backed proposal that Musharraf form a government with former Prime Minister Bhutto also appears to be deeply unpopular. Sixty per cent of Pakistanis polled opposed such a deal, which American officials had hoped would bolster support for Musharraf.

Instead, 58 per cent said they would support a “Grand Opposition Alliance” among Bhutto, Sharif and other parties against Musharraf. Fifty-six percent said the army, which has intermittently ruled Pakistan since it won independence from Britain 60 years ago, should have no role in civilian government.

If Bhutto and Sharif do not form an alliance, the country appears to be headed toward a hung Parliament, according to the poll. Asked which party they would support in elections, 30 per cent of those polled said they would support Bhutto’s party, 25 per cent named Sharif’s.

The poll was based on the responses of 3,520 randomly selected men and women from across Pakistan, according to the institute. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.69 per cent.

“If they did unite, they would put themselves in a much stronger position,” said Robert Varsalone, the institute’s country director, referring to Bhutto and Sharif.

The poll also identified several worrying trends for Musharraf’s party. Seventy per cent of Pakistanis said they felt the country was headed in the wrong direction and 51 per cent said their personal economic situation had worsened.

Pakistani and Western observers warn that clear signs already exist that Musharraf and his supporters are manipulating the election. They fear a repeat of nationwide elections won by Musharraf’s party in 2002.