An election official, far left, helps a voter cast her ballot as a second voter registers next to ballot boxes

ISLAMABAD, October 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Islamic parties strongly opposed to U.S. policies made stunning gains in Pakistani elections Friday, October 11, and look certain to hold the balance of power in parliament in the first legislative elections since a military coup three years ago.

Of 102 national assembly seats announced by 0740 GMT, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance of six parties had won 31 and were set to control a provincial legislature near the Afghan border, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Results for the assembly's 272 general seats are being announced by the Election Commission as they come in from across Pakistan, and full results are not expected until late in the day.

The MMA has surged ahead in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), picking up 19 of the province's 35 seats so far.

They are ahead in counting in most remaining NWFP seats and in four of the 19 seats in the tribal border belt. They have also clinched three seats in south-west Baluchistan province.

Both NWFP and Baluchistan border Afghanistan and are home to ethnic Pashtuns.

MMA parties, contesting as an alliance for the first time, won only four out of 201 federal seats in the last 1997 elections.

Their cleric leaders campaigned heavily on an anti-U.S. platform, pledging to expel U.S. troops from Pakistani airbases, AFP said.

U.S.-led coalition troops have been using at least three airbases in Pakistan to carry out their war on Afghanistan.

They also campaigned fiercely against President Pervez Musharraf for supporting the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan and for cracking down on local opposition.

"People wanted change from the past corrupt rulers and the pro-U.S. policies of General Musharraf," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), a member of the MMA.

"The widespread anti-American feeling among the people has clearly gone in our favor and we are very happy over it," Ahmed, who won his seat of Nowshera in NWFP, told AFP.

"Governments in the past have been corrupt. Now it is time for honorable people to rule this country," theologian Arif Shah told AFP as he cast his ballot Thursday, October 10.

"I am praying to God that the corrupt who ruled this country never return," said Suleman Gul, 63, a retired army officer backing the MMA.

Pakistanis pass campaign banners for various political parties on a street in Karachi

Truck-driver Sakhi Sarwar said religious parties had to win the election "to rid the country of corrupt and dishonest people."

"The Taliban factor is going to play a crucial role," said Liaquat Ali Yusufzai, a former member of Awami National Party, which had traditionally held sway around NWFP.

"You will see different results in these elections," he told AFP.

"I am not exaggerating, 80 percent of the silent majority is deeply hurt and aggrieved that an Islamic government was ousted in Afghanistan by the anti-Muslim coalition."

The elections had been marred by accusations against the military regime of pre-election poll rigging, and official media put the turnout after a lackluster campaign at around 36 percent, AFP said.

While fears of attacks did not materialize, eight people – all of them party supporters – were reported killed and dozens injured in poll-related clashes in the south of the country.

The pro-government Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), which opponents call the King's party because of its support for Musharraf, has won 29 seats so far, all in Punjab.

The opposition Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) of self-exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has won 16 seats, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of deposed premier Nawaz Sharif, also in exile, has won eight seats.

Bhutto and Sharif, both accused of corruption, were barred from standing.

Cricket hero Imran Khan won his home seat of Mianwali, the first election victory for Khan's six-year-old Tehreek-i-Insaf (Justice Movement) party.

Independent candidates have won 11 seats, including Maulana Azam Tariq, the jailed leader of the outlawed Islamic organization Sipah-e-Sahaba.

Sipah-e-Sahaba was one of five outfits banned by Musharraf in January.

"This is not a result that President Musharraf would like to hear," Mohammad Afzal Niazi, a political analyst from Lahore, told AFP.

"It also means that the MMA apart from controlling the NWFP will also hold the balance of power in the national assembly. This will force any government formed to cut back on Pakistan's support for the war on terror."

The lengthy counting procedure has been inching on through the night in Pakistan's four provinces. The results would be certified some time next week.

The elections have been promised by Musharraf since he led a military coup in October 1999. He pledged a series of reforms to establish "real democracy" after 11 years of what he termed "sham democracy" under Bhutto and Sharif.

The national assembly will ultimately have a total of 342 seats, including 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for non-Muslim minorities. The reserved seats will be decided on a proportional representation basis.

On Wednesday August 21, Musharraf announced controversial changes in the country’s constitution, giving him new powers to sack the elected government by dissolving the National Assembly.

In the constitutional amendments package, which got the final approval from the cabinet earlier, the armed forces have been given a formal role in the country’s politics by giving army, air and naval forces chiefs seats on the powerful National Security Council.

Announcing the constitutional changes during a press conference, Musharraf said the amendments did not require a formal approval from Parliament. “And if they [the new elected government] tried to make confrontation out of these changes [in the constitution] I will see whether they will back out or me,” he added.

“That is an issue that would bring them into conflict with me. Then I will see who remains,” he said when asked what would happen if the assembly rejected the amendments 

One of the 29 amendments announced Wednesday ensures that General Musharraf holds the offices of the President as well as that of the Chief of the Army Staff, simultaneously for another five years.

The National Security Council can check working of the parliament, with powers to dismiss the government and the parliament back in the President’s hands. Thus, the elected prime minister would have very little maneuvering space as far as policy making issues are concerned.

Musharraf has time and again made it clear that he will not allow the elected government to do anything against the national interest. And in the absence of a clear definition of this so-called “national interest” the future prime minister can be sacked for any reason.

With the constitutional package intact and a very strong set of policy covering almost every aspect of government, the new government will not be able to rule freely. And anyone trying to reverse the amendments or policies carefully derived in the last three years will face the consequences.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth election observers declared Friday Pakistan's polls "for the most part transparent," but said there were doubts over whether there was a "truly level" playing field.

"While our observers encountered a number of irregularities and disturbances, we received no major complaints from polling agents and on the whole what we observed was orderly and peaceful," the head of the team, Tan Sri Dato Musa bin Hitam declared in a preliminary statement.

"As for the conduct of elections on polling day, I consider that they have been well organized and for the most part transparent."

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