Pakistani presidential election, 2007
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An indirect presidential election was held in Pakistan on 6 October 2007. This was before dissolution of parliament for the following
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
to be held in 2008. The Pakistani legislature elected incumbent Pervez Musharraf by an overwhelming majority. The near-unanimous nature of Musharraf's victory was made possible by the absence of two key political opposition leaders, Nawaz Sharif and
Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
. Nawaz Sharif had attempted to return to Pakistan before the election but was deported back into exile by the ruling government because of a gross violation of the agreement he had signed with the current regime to stay out of Pakistan and its politics for a period of ten years. Benazir Bhutto had also announced her intention to return to Pakistan for the elections but ultimately decided not to do so. It was widely assumed that her decision was the result of an arrangement she made with Musharraf.


Candidates

Wajihuddin Ahmed Wajihuddin Ahmed ( ur, ; born 1 December 1938) is a retired senior justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, human rights activist, and former professor of law at the Sindh Muslim Law College. Prior to be elevated as Senior Justice of the S ...
has filed his candidacy to stand for a group of lawyers opposed to Musharraf, while the
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
fielded its vice president
Ameen Faheem Makhdoom Muhammad Ameen Faheem ( ur, ; ''alt. spelling'': Amin Fahim; 4 August 1939 – 21 November 2015) was a Pakistani populist left-wing figure and a poet. He was the senior vice-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party, chairman of Pakist ...
as a candidate, though he stated he would withdraw his candidacy if Musharraf were approved as a candidate. The Supreme Court decided on 28 September 2007 that Musharraf could stand in the election. On 29 September 2007, the Election Commission scrutinised the nomination papers of all 43 candidates. Musharraf and both of his major opponents (Ahmed and Fahim) were approved, along with three others; the official list of candidates was announced to be publicised on 1 October 2007. On 1 October 2007, a final list of five candidates was announced: * Pervez Musharraf, the incumbent, for the
Pakistan Muslim League (Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a re ...
; *
Wajihuddin Ahmed Wajihuddin Ahmed ( ur, ; born 1 December 1938) is a retired senior justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, human rights activist, and former professor of law at the Sindh Muslim Law College. Prior to be elevated as Senior Justice of the S ...
, a former Supreme Court judge, for an association of lawyers opposed to Musharraf; *
Ameen Faheem Makhdoom Muhammad Ameen Faheem ( ur, ; ''alt. spelling'': Amin Fahim; 4 August 1939 – 21 November 2015) was a Pakistani populist left-wing figure and a poet. He was the senior vice-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party, chairman of Pakist ...
for the
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
; * Muhammad Mian Soomro, chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, as Musharraf's backup candidate; * Faryal Talpur, deputy mayor of the southern city of Nawabshah, as Fahim's backup candidate.


Results

Musharraf overwhelmingly won the election on 6 October, though the opposition had boycotted the election and other candidates withdrew from the election. 80 opposition party members had resigned from parliament, protesting that Musharraf was running for re-election while remaining head of the army. The
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
, led by Benazir Bhutto, only abstained from the vote—a move that prevented the vote from being invalid. In the National parliaments, Musharraf received 252 votes, against Wajihuddin Ahmed's two votes and the results from the provincial parliaments were similar. Complete results were announced only 80 minutes after the five-hours-long voting process had been finished, with 685 of the 1,170 eligible lawmakers participating. The results were: * Pervez Musharraf: 671 votes * Wajihuddin Ahmed: 8 votes * Invalid: 6 votes The Supreme Court rejected all challenges to the legality of the election, with the last ruling made on 2007-11-22.


International reaction

International reaction to the election has been mixed, with commentators praising the fact that Pakistan is moving in the direction of democracy but critics pointing out that, among other factors, the boycotting of the election puts its results into doubt. The George W. Bush administration has long supported Musharraf's administration for maintaining stability but expressed a concern that all parties need to take part in order for an election to be truly democratic.


References


Literature

* Schoresch Davoodi & Adama Sow:
The Political Crisis of Pakistan in 2007
' - EPU Research Papers: Issue 08/07, Stadtschlaining 2007


External links


Explanation of the electoral process
on BBC News {{Pakistani presidential elections
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
2007 elections in Pakistan October 2007 events in Pakistan