Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari is so confident of being elected on Saturday has the 12th president of Pakistan that he has reportedly scheduled a visit to China on Sept. 9. The News, which reported his planned visit to China, was among several newspapers that dismmissed the presidential race is a foregone conclusion. Zaradari is contesting against Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of former premier Nawaz Sharif, which quit the PPP-led coalition last month, and Mushahid Hussain Sayed of the PML-Q, the party of ousted president Pervez Musharraf. The Electoral College comprises the Lower House and Upper House of Parliament and the four provincial assemblies, having a total of 702 votes. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated last November, was minister for environment in Bhutto's second government and a caretaker minister in the 1993 cabinet for a brief period. If he gets elected, PPP will enjoy absolute power for the first time since the seventies. In effect, he will be the president of Pakistan, the co-chair of the PPP and the man fully controlling the government with the prime minister acting just as his lackey. “Zardari and the PPP have played a lead role in restoring the presidency back to democratic governance and undoing the dictator's (Musharraf's) control,” PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar told this correspondent. Also, it will be the first time in Pakistan's history that the PPP chief will possess the nuclear button by virtue of Zardari's official position as president. “If persons like Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf can have such control, why can't a Sindhi politician have it as well, and why is he not being trusted by certain circles?” Babar asked. Although Bhutto served as prime minister twice between 1988 and 1996, she was kept away from the country's nuclear program. During both her tenures as prime minister, she was tormented by the powerful president of the time, who possessed the draconian power to dissolve the National Assembly and dismiss the government, and who and used it against her. Babar said Zardari will not exercise such authority before it is scrapped from the Constitution though not in the near future because the PPP lacks a two-thirds majority in parliament. “The new president will put its full constitutional weight behind the government, which will act confidently for facing no threat from the presidency,” Babar said. “Unfortunately, the presidency has always been a den of intrigues, which will not be the case now.” Zardari's rivals seem reconciled to his win. Zardari's campaigners are seeking to bag the maximum number of votes, especially from the Punjab Assembly, which would serve as a great morale booster for the PPP and a demoralizing factor for the PML-N. Whoever wins, Pakistan's new president will have to contend with a host of critical problems including militant violence and an economy in crisis. Political uncertaint, security worries and a sagging economy have sapped investor confidence and dragged Pakistan's main stock index down 34 percent this year. The index rose 1 percent on Friday, partly helped by optimism Saturday's vote will bring some political clarity. The beleaguered rupee has lost 20 percent against the dollar this year but firmed slightly on Friday to 76.40/50. Pakistan's dwindling foreign exchange reserves, widening current account deficit and sliding currency could result in a ratings downgrade as doubts mount over its ability to meet external debt obligations. But it will probably avoid sovereign debt default as its stability is such an important geopolitical factor institutions such as the International Monetary Fund will eventually help it meet obligations, analysts say. __
