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ISLAMABAD — Some 80 million Pakistanis are going to vote on Monday, February 18, to the national and four provincial assemblies for the next five years.
Several political parties have fielded thousands of candidates for the 272 national assembly seats, and over 1000 seats of the Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP provinces.
Experts believe parties loyal to or supportive of embattled President Pervez Musharraf would fare badly, unless the elections are rigged in their favor.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
Pakistan Muslim League (N)
Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
Jamiat Ulema Islam
Muttehida Quami Movement (MQM)
Awami National Party (ANP)
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
The PPP was formed by Pakistan's first elected prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in November 30, 1967, after he parted his way with the then military ruler General Ayub Khan.
With three years of its formation, the party emerged as the second largest party in the 1970 elections.
And after the separation of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) in 1971, the PPP became the largest party and Bhutto was elected prime minister.
Bhutto was hanged by military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq in 1979 two years after his government was ousted in a military coup.
His daughter Benazir was imprisoned just before his execution and spent most of her five-year jail term in solitary confinement.
Benazir, who went into exile in the name of medical treatment in 1984, became the first democratically elected female leader of a Muslim nation in 1988 after her PPP swept elections following the death of Zia-ul-Haq in a plane crash.
She has twice been prime minister of Pakistan, first from 1988 to 1990 and then from 1993 to 1996.
Benazir remained the PPP leader, even during her eight-year self-exile, until her assassination in an attack on a campaign rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the seat of the powerful army, late last year.
She was succeeded by her eldest son Bilawal Zardari and his father Asif.
Recent surveys and political atmosphere suggest that the PPP, which has been riding a sympathy wave since Bhutto's assassination, appears to be the most popular party in Pakistan.
It is likely to sweep the polls in the rural areas of Sindh, the home province of slain Bhutto.
According to recent surveys, the PPP enjoys support in Sindh, southern Punjab, and some parts of the NWFP.
Pakistan Muslim League (N)
The party, led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, is the second major political force in the country.
Sharif served as the country's prime minister from 1990 to 1993 and from 1997 to 1999.
During his second stint, Pakistan became the first Muslim nuclear state on May 28, 1998.
His elected government in a bloodless military coup led by then army chief of staff General Pervez Musharraf.
Sharif and his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, a former Punjab Chief Minister, returned from Saudi Arabia in December last after a seven-year exile.
Their nomination papers have been rejected by the election commission.
With a strong base in Punjab and the eastern parts of NWFP, poll surveys show the PML (N) enjoys support of nearly 24 percent of the electorate.
Independent observers and even the party leadership do not expect the party to be in a position for form the government after the elections.
Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
The PML (Quaid-e-Azam) is a splinter faction of Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League (N).
Led by Chaudry Shujaat Hussein, once a close aide of Sharif, the party was formed in 2000 two months after the ouster of Sharif's government in the Musharraf-led coup.
It emerged as the largest seat taker in the 2002 elections, but was unable to secure the required number of parliamentary seats to form the government.
The government was formed later after 20 members of the PPP defected and joined hands with the PML (Q).
Opposition parties, independent think tanks and observers blame the PML (Q) for using state resources and other coercive measures to intimidate their political rivals.
Chaudry Perwaiz Elahi, a cousin of the party leader and a former Punjab chief minister, is likely to be its candidate for the premiership post.
His media managers have been working overtime to give him a suave, modern look where he is shown wearing branded lounge suits and gaudy ties.
His pictures with diplomats are flashed in media. Efforts were also made to lobby for his support where it matters -- Washington.
But the dream seems farfetched preliminary forecasts showing the PML (Q) faring not so well in smaller provinces.
More importantly, its prospects in Punjab, where its campaign is concentrated, may not be as bright as some might think.
A closer look at figures reveals that PML (Q) may be faring far behind the PPP and Sharif's PML-N.
Jamiat Ulema Islam
Jamiat Ulema Islam, which represents the Dubendi school of thought, is led by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman.
It is the only considerable religious party of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a coalition of six religious parties, participating in the polls.
The JUI has a strong support in the southern parts of NWFP and northern Balochistan.
However, observers do not expect the party to do well in the elections after its overt and covert support to Musharraf undermined its credibility among many voters.
Jammat-e-Islami, a major component of the MMA and the country's largest and most annexed religious party, is boycotting the elections.
The MMA had stunned the world by its unexpected victory in 2002 elections, emerging as the third major political force.
Its candidates swept the vote in NWFP and northern parts of Balochistan province, bordering Afghanistan.
The MMA later formed the NWFP provincial government and had also been part of a coalition government in Balochistan.
Muttehida Quami Movement (MQM)
This party represents the Urdu-speaking people who had migrated from India to Pakistan in 1947.
Backed by the slogans Long Live Mohajirs (immigrants), the party was founded in 1977 by its current leader Altaf Hussain.
Ten years later it emerged as the largest party in the urban areas of southern Sindh province.
However, support for the party has been gradually diminishing as the MMA made inroads into its strongholds.
The MQM secured 19 national assembly and 41 provincial assembly seats in 2002 elections.
It has been a staunch supporter of Musharraf, who belongs to the same ethnic background.
The party is known for hard tactics against its political rivals.
Awami National Party (ANP)
This party represents the nationalist and left wing elements.
It had a strong base in NWFP till 2002, where it suffered a painful defeat at the hands of the MMA.
The party could not win even a single national assembly seat in the 2002 general elections.
However, political pundits believe the ANP stands a good chance in the upcoming polls in view of the Jammat-e-Islami's boycott and declining support for the pro-Musharraf JUI.
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