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Pakistan election to be delayed

Electoral officials agree to delay general election, with a new date expected to be announced on Wednesday.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 15:49 January 1, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Reuters
  • Some offices of the electoral commission have been damaged in trouble after the murder of Benazir Bhutto

Islamabad: Electoral officials have decided to delay Pakistan's general election following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

The decision to delay the poll was taken 'in principle' on Tuesday but the Electoral Commission said it would not make the announcement final until Wednesday.

The original election was scheduled to take place on January 8.

A new date is also expected to be announced on Wednesday, after the commission consults with the three main political parties.

Election Commission official Kanwar Dilshad said many of its offices in Sindh were torched in rioting after Bhutto's murder.

"We will inform the political parties about the situation in Sindh where our 13 offices were burnt. We will inform them about the ground realities and then we will fix a date in
consultation with them," Dilshad added.

The ruling PML-Q party has said it is in favour of a delay in the vote, but Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the other opposition PML-N party have both called for the elections to go ahead as planned.

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