I’ve mentioned before that election polls don’t happen nearly as often in Pakistan as they do in America. Then, like the London buses….
This week the US-based International Republican Institute, which conducted a poll across all four Pakistani provinces over ten days in January 2008, found the PPP leading, with 50% of those sampled saying they would vote for it; Nawaz Sharif’s PML (N) party achieved 22% of the votes; and the pro-Musharraf PML (Q) trailed in third with 14%.
There has been a perception by those in power that Pakistanis can have the wool pulled over their eyes. The poll finds this isn’t true. 79% would feel that rigging had occurred if Musharraf’s PML (Q) party won.
Of likely post-election coalition scenarios, a PPP/PML (N) partnership seems most popular at 72% and most acceptable too with sampled voters of each of the two parties concerned.
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