Musharraf's Party Defeated in Pakistan Elections

Official vote counts are not expected to be released for several days, but Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League-Q party conceded defeat Tuesday, telling the Associated Press, "We accept the results with an open heart."

While Musharraf was not on the ballot, the vote was seen by many as a public measure of his dwindling support.

Two of his closest political allies, including the chairman of the party, lost parliamentary seats in Punjab, the most populated province in Pakistan. Nearly all members of the party leadership were defeated.

After voting Monday, Musharraf tried to dispel any concerns that he would reject a negative result for the election.

"This is the voice of the nation," he said on state-run Pakistan Television. "Everyone should accept the results. That includes myself."

A delayed election

	Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination threw the country into turmoil and delayed the elections.

Bhutto, herself a former prime minister, died during a suicide bombing and gun attack on her convoy after a political rally on Dec. 27.

The assassination threw the country into turmoil and Musharraf delayed the elections to avoid any more violence.

Both Bhutto and another opposition party leader, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, returned to Pakistan last year to participate in elections after years in exile.

Though not allies, Bhutto and Sharif did agree on the need to defeat Musharraf's party and bring true democracy to Pakistan.

Election results and turn out

	Election workers unload ballots from the election, which had a historically low turnout.

Despite the high profile nature of the election, either fear of violence at the polls or lack of enthusiasm about the candidates appeared to have kept most voters away.

Sarwar Bari of Free and Fair Elections Network told the Associated Press that election observers estimated the voter turnout to be about 35 percent, one of the lowest in Pakistan's history.

"I was already disillusioned with politics and it only deepened after the death of Ms. Bhutto," housewife Rifat Ashraf said on election day, reported Time Magazine. "There are three voters in our family, and they are all here having a picnic."

Musharraf's rule

	Musharraf has ruled Pakistan as an unelected military leader since a coup in 1999.

After taking power, Musharraf promised to hold elections within three years. He declared himself president in 2000, but instead of holding the election he promised, he held a referendum in 2002 to extend his presidency by five years and grant himself new powers.

His refusal to hold a presidential election and his tight control over the media made him unpopular with pro-democracy Pakistanis.

At the same time, he angered religious fundamentalists by cooperating with the Bush administration in its efforts to rout out terror suspects in the region.

Pakistan and the United States

	President Bush has called Pakistan a key ally in the war against terrorism.

"It is certainly clear that Pakistan has taken a step towards the full restoration of democracy. This is something we wanted to see happen," State Department spokesman Tom Casey told Reuters after the election.

Musharraf first aligned himself with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and agreed to go after terror suspects within Pakistan, although he has been criticized for not doing more to capture Taliban members living near the border with Afghanistan.