Doubts blend with joy as Bhutto's widower is elected Pakistan president
Amid great emotion , lawmakers overwhelmingly vote to replace Pervez Musharraf with Asif Ali Zardari. Many Pakistanis wonder whether the political novice can deal with the country's problems.
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — The ascension of Benazir Bhutto's widower to the presidency marked an emotional moment today for the slain leader's supporters, but many Pakistanis wondered whether a political novice such as Asif Ali Zardari could successfully tackle the country's daunting problems.
Chants of "Bhutto lives!" rang out in parliamentary chambers as regional and national lawmakers cast ballots overwhelmingly electing Zardari to replace Pervez Musharraf, the longtime U.S. ally who stepped down last month rather than face impeachment charges.
Likely to be sworn in Tuesday, the new president will face a host of challenges, including a fast-deteriorating economy, a determined Islamic insurgency and an often-uneasy relationship with Washington. A reminder of the violence gripping the country came even as the votes were being cast. At least 30 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in the northwestern city of Peshawar, and elsewhere in the restive province, 24 people died in clashes after insurgents tried to kidnap a village elder.
Zardari, 53, who married Bhutto in 1987 in an arranged union that shocked many of her friends, had said while she was alive that he had no interest in politics. Most of the former prime minister's contemporaries did not regard Zardari, the polo-playing scion of a wealthy landowning clan, as her intellectual equal, and the two lived apart for the last years of her life.
But he became the leader of the Pakistan People's Party when she was assassinated in December, and after leading the party to victory in parliamentary elections just six weeks later, Zardari made it clear that he wanted more than a ceremonial role in government.
After the elections, the PPP at first aligned itself with the second-biggest opposition vote-getter, the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. But that partnership collapsed last month amid acrimony over whether and how to restore judges fired last year by Musharraf.
Pakistani media reports said Sharif, one of the country's most popular politicians, had telephoned Zardari to offer congratulations. His party's presidential candidate, Saeed Uzzaman Siddiqui, trailed in the vote, with the candidate of Musharraf's party, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, finishing last.
Zardari won 480 of the 702 electoral college votes cast, election officials said, citing an unofficial tally.
