Pakistan polls delayed
Updated on 31 December 2007
Elections in Pakistan look set to be postponed for several weeks say vote officials.
Pakistan's general elections are likely to be a delayed by up to two months after Benazir Bhutto's killing plunged the country into crisis.
This is despite supporters of slain opposition leader Bhutto demanding that Pakistan go to the polls as planned on January 8.
Pakistani electoral officials will decide on January 1 whether to go ahead with the poll on the scheduled day.
Musharraf opponents said postponement would deliver a political advantage to his supporters and it was not clear what such a delay would evoke.
Bhutto widower Asif Ali Zardari said: "Despite this dangerous situation, we will go for elections, according to her will and thinking."
He was made co-chairman of the PPP party on Sunday alongside the couple's teenage son, Bilawal.
Zardari said he would not run in the election and would not be a candidate for prime minister but mentioned PPP vice chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim as a possible candidate.
'Despite this dangerous situation, we will go for elections, according to her (Benazir Bhutto) will and thinking.'Benazir Bhutto widower Asif Ali Zardari
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party said it would take part in elections despite the loss of its leader, and a spokeswoman said it wanted them to stay on schedule, adding that any postponement would help the PPP's opponents.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, leader of the other main opposition party, said it was dropping a plan to boycott the vote and would take part after the PPP decided to participate.
He said: "In my view, there is a dire need today that the People's Party and Sindh should not be left alone".
Sharif added: "Other provinces, particularly Punjab, have to play an important role. Therefore, we are in the election run".
He said the government was trying to delay the election for the benefit of Musharraf's allies, and called on the president to resign, adding, "Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan cannot go together."
Election Commission secretary Kanwar Dilshad said provincial governments and electioncommissioners had been told to submit reports on the situation by the evening of December 31.
