By Augustine Anthony
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani politicians were winding upcampaigns on Saturday for a general election that is meant tocomplete a transition to civilian rule but has beenovershadowed by fear of violence and accusations of rigging.
The elections on Monday are for a new parliament andprovincial assemblies and while President Pervez Musharraf isnot taking part, the vote could have significant implicationsfor the U.S. ally if voters elect a parliament hostile to him.
The vote comes after a surge in violence that included theassassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December27, which has raised fears about the nuclear-armed country'sstability.
But many Pakistanis are more concerned about rising pricesand shortages of basic commodities such as wheat flour and evermore frequent power cuts.
Many are disillusioned with all politicians.
"It'll be very difficult to change this country," saidMohammad Abbas, who works in a rice shop in the town of Sabbokiin Punjab province.
"Whatever the politicians do they do for themselves, notfor change," said Abbas, who said he would not be voting.
The elections come after months of political turmoil overthe increasingly unpopular Musharraf's efforts to stay inpower.
Two-time prime minister Bhutto had been hoping to win whenshe was killed in a gun and bomb attack and her PakistanPeople's Party is expected to reap a considerable sympathyvote.
But neither it nor either of the other two main parties,the Pakistan Muslim League that backs Musharraf, and the partyof another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is expected towin a majority of seats in parliament.
A coalition between two of the three main parties, lookslikely, analysts say.
Campaigning officially ends at midnight on Saturday andSunday is a cooling-off day.
LOW TURNOUT EXPECTED
The attack on Bhutto and other violence have unnerved bothpoliticians and voters and turnout could be low, analysts say.
The government has deployed more than 80,000 troops for thevote and has declared 30 percent of the more than 64,000polling stations "sensitive" and 14 percent "most sensitive".
All 1,122 polling stations in the violence-plagued tribalbelt on the Afghan border are "most sensitive".
On Friday night, militants blew up a polling centre set upin a jail being built in Khar, the main town in the Bajaurtribal region on the Afghan border, police said. Militants hadalso distributed notices warning people not to vote, residentssaid.
Opposition parties say Musharraf's allies have been engagedin widespread pre-poll rigging.
Sharif and Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, who isleading her party into the vote, have vowed streets protests ifthey are robbed of victory.
Musharraf rejects complaints of rigging and turned downdemands to reconstitute a caretaker government set up inNovember and to disband district governments that theopposition says are dominated by Musharraf's allies.
The opposition also says the Election Commission issubservient to the government and is failing to act oncomplaints.
Musharraf says procedures have been refined to preventcheating and the vote will be free and fair. ElectionCommission Secretary Kanwar Dilshad also dismissed fears ofrigging.
"For the first time we're using transparent ballot boxesand also for the first time, a list of polling stations andcomputerized electoral lists are on a Web site," he said.
Gallup Pakistan said it found that 51 percent of peoplesurveyed doubted the elections would be free and fair.
Nearly 81 million people, about half the country'spopulation, are registered to vote.
(Additional reporting by Kamran Haider, Zeeshan Haider)
(Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
