Islamabad - Millions of Pakistanis voted Monday in crucial parliamentary elections, which were marred by low voter turnout due to fears of bloodshed and disillusionment amid claims of rigging by the backers of embattled President Pervez Musharraf. At least 27 people died and more than 80 were injured in clashes among rival supporters of pro-government and opposition parties, mostly in Punjab province, the most hotly-contested region, according to Aaj television. Other local TV stations reported the death toll at only 14.
Feared large-scale suicide attacks by Islamic militants, who have killed more than 1,000 people in a massive bombing campaign in the past year, never materialized as more than 80,000 military personnel were deployed to protect polling stations.
But the spectre of more violence remained as election results begin to trickle out beginning late Monday and preliminary results were released on Tuesday morning, especially if the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) emerges as the winner.
Slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party led pre-election polling with 50 per cent support among likely voters, followed by fellow opposition leader Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 22 per cent. The PML-Q had a dismal 14 per cent.
Pakistani and foreign election observers were due to begin releasing their assessments of whether the polls were free and fair on Monday.
A US-led team was scheduled to release its findings on Tuesday, while a European Union observation mission, the largest foreign contingent, was scheduled to follow on Wednesday.
"We are still analyzing the data we received ... (but) at hundreds of polling stations our observers were told not to stay inside for long periods of time," said Sarwar Bari, secretary-general of Pakistan's Free and Fair Elections Network, which deployed more than 10,000 observers across the country.
"In hundreds of polling stations, (political) party agents were inside trying to influence voters," he said, adding that women were prevented from voting in numerous polling stations across Punjab's Mandi Bahauddin district.
The same problem occurred in the north-west city of Peshawar and in the neighbouring lawless tribal areas, where militants linked to the Taliban and al-Qaeda are active.
While Musharraf is not running, the polls are seen as a referendum on his rule, and the outcome could decide the future of the retired army general who is a key ally in the US-led fight against terrorism.
The polls for both national and provincial parliaments are meant to bring a return of civilian government after more than eight years of military rule under Musharraf, but they have been marred by Bhutto's December assassination at a campaign rally in the city of Rawalpindi.
Pakistani elections have a long history of violence and fraud, and it remained to be seen if turnout was higher than in 2002, when only 42 per cent of eligible voters showed up.
Nonetheless, tens of millions of people did go to the polls.
"I'm not afraid of anything," said voter Hamida Khizer, 40, as she stood in line at a polling station in Rawalpindi. "Life and death are in God's hands. When Benazir was not frightened, why would I be?"
Aside from their national and international implications, the elections were also about pressing domestic issues, including daily power rationing, rising food and fuel prices, and shortages of flour for bread, a crucial staple item for tens of millions of poor Pakistanis.
"We are voting for these (opposition) parties because we believe that these parties are going to throw Musharraf out," Khizer said. "If you don't take the dead dog out of the well, you can't clean it."
However, other voters opted to stick with Musharraf and the ruling PML-Q, whom they credit for the country's 7-per-cent economic growth during the past five years.
"Regardless of whether I like him as a person or not, I support his policies and I'm going to vote for PML-Q because Musharraf supports it," said Mohammed Saghir Raja, 38, as he prepared to cast his ballot in Rawalpindi. "Under him, Pakistan has seen huge economic progress and many development projects."
Violence began even before polls opened at 8am Monday.
On Sunday night, a PML-N provincial candidate and four supporters were shot dead in the eastern city of Lahore, and Islamic militants blew up a polling station in the restive north-east Swat region.
After voting began, explosions were reported near at least three polling stations in Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), where nine security personnel deployed to protect polling stations were reportedly kidnapped. Blank ballots went missing or were stolen from polling stations in Punjab.
Rifad Haziz, a local election official in Rawalpindi, some 15 kilometres from Islamabad, said her station had 1,100 registered voters but only 10 had shown up to cast ballots by mid-morning.
"It is mainly due to bomb threats," she said.
