Party alliances Thirty-two parties opposed to Musharraf have joined in a loose
political alliance called
All Parties Democratic Movement; the PPP, one of the main parties, was not a part of this alliance. As Musharraf had stated that the elections would be held under the
state of emergency, at least three parties stated they will boycott such elections, fearing that they would not be free and fair: the PML (N),
Jamaat-e-Islami and
Tehreek-i-Insaaf. The opposition parties jointly stated that the elections could not be fair, as most opposition candidates were in jail under the state of emergency and thus unable to file nomination papers for the election. On 23 November 2007 PPP members were given the go-ahead to register for the elections, while still reserving the decision to boycott the election.
Imran Khan, the Tehreek-i-Insaaf leader, restated his call for a boycott on 23 November 2007, the day the APDM was to decide on whether to boycott the elections jointly. Upon his return to Pakistan on 26 November 2007
Nawaz Sharif stated he would run in the elections only if the state of emergency was lifted before the polls, and that he would not serve as Prime Minister under Musharraf. However, Sharif's candidacy was rejected on 3 December due to his prior criminal conviction. On 10 December 2007 Sharif and Bhutto finally announced they would not boycott the election, despite their fears that the election would be neither free nor fair.
Pakistan Peoples Party The
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) campaigned on wide range of issues, including country's
role in terrorism,
nationalization,
immigration and
foreign policy. The
PPP is a
centre-left political party and promotes the proponents of
social democracy. During the election campaign,
Benazir highlighted the success of
computer literacy programme that was launched in 1993 and gas pipelines infrastructure that was initiated in 1995.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) The
Pakistan Muslim League-N's political campaign was led by
Nisar Ali Khan, in the absence of
Nawaz Sharif. The
PML(N) is a
centre-right political party and primarily targeted the
Pervez Musharraf and
PML(Q)'s government initiatives to resolve the
law and order situation in the country. Due to
Pervez Musharraf baring
Nawaz Sharif to return to the country, the
PML-N's campaign was restricted in all over the country.
Electoral support In a poll from the
International Republican Institute conducted from 19 to 29 January, the PPP led with 50%, followed by
PML-N with 22% and Musharraf's PML-Q with 14%. The ultraconservative
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) had 1% and
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) 1%. Due to its unprecedented lead in the opinion polls, most commentators believed
PPP could win a landslide victory. However, the actual results were much smaller for
PPP. In the first three counts to finish, the opposition did well: The provincial assembly seat in
Baluchistan went to the PPP—the party of assassinated former Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto—while two independent candidates won seats from the northern tribal areas. Unofficial returns 19 February 2008 showed huge wins for the opposition parties of former Prime Ministers
Nawaz Sharif and the slain
Benazir Bhutto, one day after a pivotal vote that could threaten Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf's political viability. Pakistan's two main opposition parties, the PPP and the PML (N) announced 21 February 2008 they would form a new government together after their victory over President
Pervez Musharraf's allies in elections the week of 18 February 2008. Shortly after making their coalition official, Pakistan's main opposition parties, the
Pakistan Peoples Party and the
Pakistan Muslim League (N), on 9 March 2008 called on President
Pervez Musharraf to immediately convene parliament (
Majlis-e-Shoora). ==Results==