ISLAMABAD - Pakistan plans to postpone next week's election after Benazir Bhutto's killing sparked turmoil in the nuclear-armed country, but officials put off a final announcement until Wednesday to consult parties.
The opposition leader's assassination on Thursday triggered bloodshed and rage against President Pervez Musharraf, casting doubts on Pakistan's stability and the transition to democratic rule in the country, a front-line ally in U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.
Election Commission official Kanwar Dilshad told reporters on Tuesday that "in principle" the election was being delayed from January 8 and a new date would be announced on Wednesday.
The death toll from violence since Bhutto's killing was 58, the Interior Ministry said, but on Tuesday the situation in the country was relatively calm.
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which can expect to reap a considerable sympathy vote after Bhutto's murder, and the other main opposition party, led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, want the election to go ahead as scheduled.
"It is up to the people of Pakistan to choose their future, and the time is now," Sharif and Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, now co-chairman of her party along with their 19-year old son, Bilawal, said in a joint statement.
"The January 8th elections must proceed as scheduled. This will not only be a tribute to the memory of Benazir Bhutto, but even more important, a reaffirmation of the cause of democracy for which she died," they said.
Zardari said a delay would serve no purpose.
"Tomorrow, suppose they postpone elections for 10 days, 15 days or one month and there is another assassination then what will happen?," he told Reuters Television.
"What guarantee there is that once they postpone the elections the situation will be under control?
VOTER ROLLS BURNT
The Election Commission has said many of its offices in Sindh, Bhutto's home province in the south, were burnt in rioting after her murder, and election material including voter rolls reduced to ashes.
