Pakistan and India have both held important elections in recent weeks. In Pakistan, the government party won as expected. In Kashmir, the pro-India party that has ruled the restive region for decades was routed. Even more important than the results is the fact that the votes were held at all. Now, both governments can get down to business. High on their agendas is the resumption of a dialogue between the two longtime antagonists.
Pakistan held elections to fulfill a promise made by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf when he seized power in a coup in 1999. To calm international fears about a military government in Islamabad, he pledged to return Pakistan to democratic rule. Unfortunately, the president rigged the vote. He designed rules to eliminate secular opposition political parties. He also required legislative candidates to have four-year college degrees, which eliminated nearly 40 percent of the potential candidates. The president made an exception for candidates from religious parties, allowing them to use certificates from religious schools to qualify.
That exception may prove costly. While the progovernment Quaid-e-Azam faction of the Pakistan Muslim League won 70 seats in the National Assembly, an alliance of six hardline religious parties claimed majorities in two provincial legislative assemblies and won 47 of 272 open seats in the National Assembly. The Pakistan People's Party, which is headed by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who is currently living in exile, claimed second and has begun negotiations with the Islamists about forming a government -- a test of the president's promise to honor the election results.