这次选举并不涉及总统选举,因此没有人挑战穆沙拉夫总统的地位,但是,如果反对派政党赢得议会中三分之二的议席,成为拥有绝对优势的多数党,他们将有足够的票数弹劾穆沙拉夫。
Public-opinion surveys released before the election show Mr. Musharraf's popularity has plummeted during the past year, after he purged the judiciary and imposed six weeks of emergency rule.
选举前公布的民意调查结果显示,在穆沙拉夫整肃司法部门并实行了六个星期的紧急状态之后,他的支持率在去年一年中大幅下跌。
Dr. Tariq Ali Khan says those moves prompted him to vote for the opposition.
塔里克.阿里汗博士也是一位选民。他说,穆沙拉夫的这些行动使他把票投给了反对派。
"Particularly we are against the Pakistan Muslim League, Qaid-i-Azam League, because their politics are not basically in the interest of our country," he said. "They are supporting just one leader, General Pervez Musharraf. We are in favor of democracy. As you know there is no democracy in the presence of General Pervez Musharraf. Although he thinks that he is the elected president, we do not think so."
阿里汗说:“我们尤其反对巴基斯坦穆斯林联盟领袖派,因为从根本上看,它的政治主张对巴基斯坦的利益没有好处。它只支持一个领导人,那就是穆沙拉夫将军。我们支持民主,可你知道,只要穆沙拉夫将军当权,巴基斯坦就没有民主。虽然他觉得自己是民选总统,但是我们不这么觉得。”
Among the several women voters we spoke with, all supported Ms. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party.
我们还采访了一些女性选民,她们全部支持布托女士生前领导的巴基斯坦人民党。
Sanam Zulfiqar Khan says Ms. Bhutto's assassination was a personal tragedy for her, but the former prime minister's ideals live on through her party.
一名叫萨拿姆.佐勒菲卡尔汗的选民说,对她来说,布托女士遇刺是一个个人悲剧,而这位前总理所领导的政党继承了她的遗志。
"The Pakistan People's Party is the most progressive and liberal party," said Khan. "It is the largest party. It is a national party and I think in terms of what it has to offer to the citizens of this nation is more than any other party so I have chosen to vote for it."
她说:“巴基斯坦人民党是最进步和自由的党,也是最大的党。它是一个全国性的党。我认为,和其它政党相比,它能给巴基斯坦的公民提供更多的服务和好处,所以我决定投票支持它。”
Glen Cowan is with the U.S. observer delegation and says he has monitored about 40 elections worldwide.
格伦.考恩是美国选举观察代表团的成员,他说,他已经在世界各地观察过大约40场选举了。
Cowan says at the polling places he visited in Pakistan the technical aspects of voting appeared to go smoothly, but he still has concerns.
考恩说,在他参观的巴基斯坦投票站里,投票在技术方面似乎进行得很顺利,但他还是有一些担心。
"We remain concerned about a series of issues surrounding particularly the women's stations," said Cowan. "We are not entirely satisfied that the lists were sufficient in number to permit all Pakistanis who wanted to, to vote. Obviously we have to watch the vote count tonight and see that the vote count is done in a manner that actually tabulates the results that come from the polling stations."
考恩说:“我们依然对一系列问题感到担心,特别是在一些给妇女设立的投票站。在那里,前来投票的选民人数不够多,并不是所有想投票的人都能参与投票,对此我们并不十分满意。显然我们要监督今晚的计票,看看计票工作是不是本着忠于投票实际结果的原则来进行的。”
The results of pre-election opinion polls reported that opposition parties would do significantly better in the vote than those supporting Mr. Musharraf.
选举前进行的民意调查显示,反对派各政党的得票将大大超过支持穆沙拉夫总统的党派。
Leaders of the opposition predict the results will be rigged, while President Musharraf says the counting will be free and fair.
反对党的领导人预测,选举结果将被操纵,而穆沙拉夫总统说,计票过程将是自由而公正的。