October 07, 2007	Sunday	Ramazan 24, 1428

LAHORE, Oct 6: The presidential election proved to be an all-government show within and outside the Punjab Assembly on Saturday as it was held peacefully and smoothly with opposition nowhere in sight to cause even a little bit of trouble.

There was no member of the APDM outside the assembly to protest the election of the general, and lawyers who wanted to come there for the purpose were stopped by police near the Jinnah Hall.

The PPP legislators did come to the heavily-guarded assembly but soon announced that they were abstaining from polling after a meeting in the committee room, also giving a free hand to the ruling party and its allies in the house to finish balloting one-and-a-half hours before the scheduled 3pm cut-off time.

The PPP MPAs showed their disagreement with the election by raising slogans in favour of Ms Benazir Bhutto while rushing out of the assembly building pell-mell and in front of television cameras. Their leader Qasim Zia chose to sit in his official room in the assembly watching television and announcing that the decision had been taken because the PPP was against the re-election of Gen Musharraf in uniform, and through this out-going assembly.

Surprisingly, the only opposition to the re-election of Gen Pervez Musharraf came from within the PML whose three unknown members cast votes for Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad (retired). One vote was cancelled and Gen Musharraf bagged 253 according to the unofficial results.

Elsewhere in the city business continued as per routine as the traders simply ignored the strike call given half-heartedly by the APDM.

Traffic was allowed on The Mall throughout the day as against the Friday night announcement of its closure during the polling hours, probably after assessment that no-one would reach the assembly to cause any disturbance.

Local journalists who were earlier denied access to the assembly too were allowed entry at around 10.15am under direction from the presiding officer, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry.

The PML MPAs and their few allies first gathered at The Mall secretariat of Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi who reportedly marked their presence. They later jointly reached the assembly.

A woman lawyer, Rabiya Bajwa, who claimed to be the polling agent of Justice Wajihuddin Ahmad (retired), kept standing outside the assembly till 10.10am, complaining that she was not being allowed entry on the false pretext that she could not perform the duty because she was not an MPA. But she went away when finally an assembly security guard came to take her inside on the directions of the presiding officer.

Her departure made the polling an opposition-free affair with only Law Minister Raja Basharat acting as the polling agent of President Musharraf. He was assisted by his colleague in the cabinet Arshad Khan Lodhi.

The chief minister sat with Speaker Afzal Sahi in the house watching his comrades casting their votes. He cast his vote at around 1pm. The first was cast by Amer Hayat Rokri at 10.10am and the last at around 1.30pm. The polling staff remained present in the house till the closing time.

PML MPA Malik Ahad who had a stroke recently, came in a wheel chair and was allowed to cast his vote without entering the house. Punjab Election Commissioner Ayaz Beg gave him the ballot paper and then put it in the transparent ballot box on his behalf.

The undecided former minister in the Pervaiz Elahi government Sughra Imam, whose parents have joined the PPP, remained absent. PML’s Pervaiz Nakai did not also come to cast vote because of his indisposition and absence, getting treatment abroad.

The Punjab assembly secretary also called the names of the PPP MPAs during the polling. The missing from the list were the APDM members who had resigned from the assembly. Two new members Saima Mustafa and Shamim Rana also cast their votes.

The members marked the ballot papers with lead pencils provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Some were reported to have taken pictures of their marked ballots through their mobile phones to later show to their leadership that they had voted for President Musharraf.

As soon as it was unofficially announced that the president had won the elections, the chief minister called a news conference to express his happiness. He parried a question on the three “traitors” in his party but said practically the former judge did not receive a single vote from the Punjab Assembly.

The beaming chief minister termed the success of Gen Musharraf a `victory of the nation’ and said it would strengthen democracy and the country.

Right at the moment, joyful workers brought drummers outside the assembly from everywhere in the city and started dancing to herald the victory. Lahore Nazim Mian Amer Mehmood and several town nazims also reached there with workers who ignited fireworks for nearly 30 minutes in jubilation but without any regard to the passing traffic which ultimately jammed.

The chief minister spoke to party workers and legislators outside the assembly building whose parking area had been covered with chairs, and congratulated them for electing the president.

He thanked them and the people for what he said electing the president in uniform, rejecting the strike call by the APDM, and failing the entire opposition within and outside the assembly.

He said the victory would serve as a basis of the PML success in the next general elections. The PML’s only rival in the general elections would be the PPP with which the latter would not make any seat adjustment, he said, adding the victory jubilations should continue throughout the night.

Earlier, in his news conference, the chief minister said the victory had boosted the president’s confidence and he would serve the country for the next five years with renewed vigour.

He said the assemblies and the president were completing their tenure. The country had in the recent past faced a political turmoil which had now been overcome with the re-election of the president. “Our desire to have him re-elected in uniform has been fulfilled,” he said.

The chief minister said the PPP had abstained from voting after assessing its imminent defeat.

Replying to questions, he said the opposition had hoodwinked Justice Wajihuddin (retired) by fielding him in the election and then leaving him alone in the arena.

He denied that the government was giving concessions to the PPP and said it had been having a dialogue with it and all other political parties for a national reconciliation. The fate of the national reconciliation ordinance would be decided by the time to come.