Pakistan counts votes for crucial election

Vote-counting began in Pakistan Monday after voters defied bombings and shootings to cast their ballots in elections that will decide the political fate of key U.S. ally President Pervez Musharraf.

The parliamentary polls were meant to cap the transition to civilian democracy after eight years of military rule, but took place in the shadow of surging violence including the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

A senior electoral official said national turnout was estimated at 40 percent of Pakistan's 81 million eligible voters, with the figure hit by security fears and violence that left at least 18 dead and 100 injured on Sunday and Monday.

Western allies will be closely watching the result of the polls in the nuclear-armed Islamic nation -- with opposition leaders vowing mass protests if rigging robs them of victory.

Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999 and stepped down as army chief in November, called for reconciliation after the vote and warned all parties to accept the outcome gracefully.

"Whoever wins the polls, as president of Pakistan, I will function with them in a totally harmonious manner," Musharraf told state television after he cast his vote in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Opinion polls have tipped Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to beat the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q).

But opposition leaders allege a campaign of "massive rigging" in favour of Musharraf's allies and have vowed to hold street protests if the results are fraudulent.

Preliminary results

The first results were expected after 10:30 pm (1730 GMT) with the overall picture set to emerge on Tuesday. The government banned exit polls.

A spokesman for the party that backs President Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday that early results from Pakistan's parliamentary elections show a "big gain" for the opposition.

"Early results show that there is a big gain for the Pakistan Muslim League of (former premier) Nawaz Sharif," said Tariq Azeem, a spokesman for the rival Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, which dominated the last parliament.

"If the results are confirmed we will play the part of the opposition as effectively as we can," he said.

"We congratulate Nawaz Sharif for an excellent performance by his party and we also congratulate Asif Ali Zardari," the head of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, Azeem added.

PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, one of Musharraf's closest political allies, had lost his parliamentary seats in Punjab province, a senior party official added on condition of anonymity.

"The results are shocking but unfortunately we are losing and the Nawaz Sharif factor has played a very big role in our defeat," the official said.

Sharif was ousted by Musharraf in a military coup in 1999 and sent into exile the following year. He returned to Pakistan late last year.