Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has won overwhelming endorsement for five more years in office. The government claims that the vote gives the regime, which seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, a democratic stamp of approval. It does not: The election offers a veneer of legitimacy to a usurper. With unstinting effort and a genuine commitment to reform, Mr. Musharraf can redeem his rule.
Mr. Musharraf, as head of the army, overthrew Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after charging him with corruption. The Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the coup was legal, and gave the general, by then the president, three years to implement his program for reform. That grace period expires in October. Unable to complete his program -- and unwilling to give up power -- Mr. Musharraf decided to call a referendum that would give him five more years in office, and the fig leaf of democratic approval.
This week's ballot purports to do just that. After continually lowering the bar for what would constitute an endorsement of the president, the government announced that nearly three-quarters of eligible voters had turned out, and 98 percent of them approved Mr. Musharraf's second term in office. Both of those numbers are contested: Independent observers say turnout was low (opposition parties say it was abysmal), and there have been repeated allegations of ballot stuffing.