By Augustine Anthony
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani President PervezMusharraf called for reconciliation on Monday after he voted ina general election that could return a parliament set ondriving him from office.
The legislative elections were originally scheduled forJanuary 8 but the assassination of former prime ministerBenazir Bhutto after a rally in Rawalpindi on December 27forced a delay.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. (3 a.m. British time) and will closeat 5 p.m. (12 p.m. British time). Results are expected to startemerging by midnight and trends should be clear on Tuesdaymorning.
The death of Bhutto, the most progressive, Western-friendlypolitician in a Muslim nation rife with anti-Americansentiment, raised concern about stability in the nuclear-armedstate.
Well over 450 people have died in militant-related violencethis year.
Fear of violence kept many Pakistanis away from the polls.Witnesses across the country reported a trickle of votersdespite 80,000 troops backing up police to watch over the vote.
The Election Commission said turnout was about 15 percentthree hours after polls opened. Monday is a holiday with banksand schools closed.
Former army chief Musharraf voted at a polling station setup in a school in the city of Rawalpindi.
"We must come out of this confrontationalist approach andget into a conciliatory mode. I myself will remain committed toa politics of reconciliation with everyone," Musharraf latertold reporters.
"As a president in the centre, I would like to workamicably in a reconciliatory mode with whosoever becomes primeminister."
Musharraf's popularity plunged over the past year becauseof his manoeuvres to hold on to power, which included purgingthe judiciary and six weeks of emergency rule.
Many Pakistanis also blame the government for risingprices, food shortages and all-too-frequent power cuts.
Voter Azra Khalid Shaikh, heading into a polling station inthe city of Karachi, said she wanted to set the country back ona path to democracy.
"This is the starting point," she said.
FEAR
Security concerns affect large parts of Pakistan. A suicideattack on Bhutto party supporters killed 47 people in anorthwestern town on Saturday.
"You see suicide bombings everywhere and you can see theempty streets on polling day. It's all because of fear," saidcivil servant Mohammad Ijaz, voting in the city of Lahore wherethree people were killed in shootings late on Sunday.
Four people were killed in election-related violence inPunjab province after polls opened, police said.
Militants set off bombs at four polling stations in thenorthwest, three in the Swat Valley, before polls opened but noone was injured. Army helicopters later attacked suspectedmilitant hideouts in Swat, residents said.
The other worry is rigging, which could prompt oppositionparties to reject the result and call for street protests,raising concern over how the powerful army would react.
The country of 160 million people has alternated betweencivilian and army rule throughout its 60-year history.
A sympathy vote is expected to help Bhutto's PakistanPeople's Party (PPP) become the largest party in the 342-seatNational Assembly.
Most analysts doubt the PPP can win a majority. Who itchooses for coalition partners will be vital to Musharraf.
Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the PPP,issued a conciliatory call for unity on the eve of the vote. Hedid not speak to reporters as he voted in Sindh.
The leader of the other main opposition party, former primeminister Nawaz Sharif, made a victory sign as he voted inLahore.
An alliance between the PPP and Sharif is what Musharrafdreads as Sharif is intent on bringing him down, perhapsthrough impeachment. Analysts say Musharraf wants a coalitionbetween the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League that backs him.
Western allies, who want a stable Pakistan focused onfighting militancy, hope for a smooth vote, as do investors ina stock market that rose 40 percent last year but has shedabout 3 percent since Bhutto's death.
Nearly 81 million people are registered to vote. Severalhundred foreigners, including a team of U.S. senators, andthousands of Pakistanis have fanned out to monitor the vote butare not allowed to do exit polls.
(To read more about the Pakistan election double click on;and visit the Reuters blog "Pakistan: Now or Never?" athttp://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/)
(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider in Islamabad,Kamran Haider and Jon Hemming in Lahore, Sahar Ahmed in Karachiand Simon Gardner in Larkana; Editing by Robert Birsel)
