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Pakistan elections postponed
Story Highlights
NEW: Vote to be delayed at least four weeks, Election Commission source says
NEW: Elections were scheduled for January 8, but poll will be put off until February
Much of election infrastructure has been destroyed in riots
ISLAMABAD (CNN) -- Elections in Pakistan have been postponed for at least four weeks, sources at the country's Election Commission told CNN Tuesday.
The elections had been scheduled for January 8. They have been postponed until sometime in February in the wake of political unrest following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the sources said.
The Central Election Commission of Pakistan had said a decision on whether to delay parliamentary elections would be made on Wednesday following consultation with political parties.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, commission Secretary General Kanwar Dilshad said various provincial government representatives had suggested that the elections be held after the Muslim month of Muharram, which follows a lunar calendar and this year begins on or about January 9 and continues until February 6.
The commission said it would looking at reports from provincial governments across Pakistan about the law and order situation in making its decision, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Election offices in 13 districts of Sindh province have been destroyed, Dilshad said. Sindh is Bhutto's home province and was the main base of her support.
"The elections aren't postponed," Dilshad said on Tuesday, but also didn't rule out a delay.
"We will tell them (the political parties) about the 13 offices that burned down. We will tell them about the ground realities. And then after the discussions, we will announce," he said.
The meetings with the various political parties are expected to be completed by Tuesday evening, and an announcement made about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday (6:30 a.m. Wednesday GMT).
Dilshad acknowledged that some local governments have asked that the voting be delayed until after Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar and one of the religion's holiest.
"There has been some mention of Muharram," he said.
Bhutto, 54, was killed Thursday in a targeted attack that involved a gunman and a suicide blast in Rawalpindi, outside of the capital Islamabad. Her party and the Pakistani government dispute the cause of her death.
The ensuing violence has caused more than $200 million (12 billion Pakistani rupees) in damage.
Pakistan's government described colossal devastation to the country's infrastructure after looters burned more than 150 train cars and wiped out telecommunications lines along the north-south railways, preventing goods and services from getting to all parts of Pakistan.
The two leading opposition parties have demanded that the government press ahead with early elections.
Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he was confident the Pakistan People's Party -- which he has taken control of since Bhutto's death -- would be victorious in the poll.
Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, told reporters earlier that he believed Musharraf intended to delay the vote because his party would not garner enough seats in parliament to rule.
The United States has kept its distance from the issue, saying it was up to the Pakistanis to decide on the timing of the elections.
A U.S. Embassy official based in Pakistan, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the United States "wants to see the election held," but if there is a postponement, "we would not object to it."
The official said that if Pakistanis agreed on the need for a postponement, Washington would like to see a specific date.
"Our greater concern would be if the elections are postponed indefinitely," he said.
Story Highlights
NEW: Vote to be delayed at least four weeks, Election Commission source says
NEW: Elections were scheduled for January 8, but poll will be put off until February
Much of election infrastructure has been destroyed in riots
ISLAMABAD (CNN) -- Elections in Pakistan have been postponed for at least four weeks, sources at the country's Election Commission told CNN Tuesday.
The elections had been scheduled for January 8. They have been postponed until sometime in February in the wake of political unrest following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the sources said.
The Central Election Commission of Pakistan had said a decision on whether to delay parliamentary elections would be made on Wednesday following consultation with political parties.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, commission Secretary General Kanwar Dilshad said various provincial government representatives had suggested that the elections be held after the Muslim month of Muharram, which follows a lunar calendar and this year begins on or about January 9 and continues until February 6.
The commission said it would looking at reports from provincial governments across Pakistan about the law and order situation in making its decision, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Election offices in 13 districts of Sindh province have been destroyed, Dilshad said. Sindh is Bhutto's home province and was the main base of her support.
"The elections aren't postponed," Dilshad said on Tuesday, but also didn't rule out a delay.
"We will tell them (the political parties) about the 13 offices that burned down. We will tell them about the ground realities. And then after the discussions, we will announce," he said.
The meetings with the various political parties are expected to be completed by Tuesday evening, and an announcement made about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday (6:30 a.m. Wednesday GMT).
Dilshad acknowledged that some local governments have asked that the voting be delayed until after Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar and one of the religion's holiest.
"There has been some mention of Muharram," he said.
Bhutto, 54, was killed Thursday in a targeted attack that involved a gunman and a suicide blast in Rawalpindi, outside of the capital Islamabad. Her party and the Pakistani government dispute the cause of her death.
The ensuing violence has caused more than $200 million (12 billion Pakistani rupees) in damage.
Pakistan's government described colossal devastation to the country's infrastructure after looters burned more than 150 train cars and wiped out telecommunications lines along the north-south railways, preventing goods and services from getting to all parts of Pakistan.
The two leading opposition parties have demanded that the government press ahead with early elections.
Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he was confident the Pakistan People's Party -- which he has taken control of since Bhutto's death -- would be victorious in the poll.
Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, told reporters earlier that he believed Musharraf intended to delay the vote because his party would not garner enough seats in parliament to rule.
The United States has kept its distance from the issue, saying it was up to the Pakistanis to decide on the timing of the elections.
A U.S. Embassy official based in Pakistan, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the United States "wants to see the election held," but if there is a postponement, "we would not object to it."
The official said that if Pakistanis agreed on the need for a postponement, Washington would like to see a specific date.
"Our greater concern would be if the elections are postponed indefinitely," he said.