Polls open for Pakistani vote

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Fears of violence overshadowedPakistan's general election on Monday with 80,000 troopsbacking up police to watch over a vote that could return aparliament set on driving President Pervez Musharraf fromoffice.

Polls opened at 8 am. (0300 GMT) and will close at 5 pm.(1200 gmt).

The election should have happened last month, but theassassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto after apolitical rally in Rawalpindi on December 27 forced a delay.

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, and the vote is being keenly watched by allies andneighbours.

There is a security scare in large parts of Pakistan, whereMusharraf has ruled since coming to power as a general in acoup in 1999, and a suicide attack on supporters of Bhutto'sparty killed 47 people in a town near the Afghan border onSaturday.

"We are confused. We don't have good leaders and we don'tknow where our country is going," said Isa, a lecturer at astate-run college in Islamabad, reflecting despair felt by manyof the 160 million people in a country that has alternatedbetween civilian and army rule throughout its 60-year history.

Well over 450 people have died in militant-related violenceso far this year, and fear could lead to a low turnout thatwould probably help Musharraf's allies.

COALATION SEEN

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.

Otherwise, a sympathy vote is expected to help Bhutto'sPakistan People's Party (PPP) emerge as the largest party inthe 342-seat National Assembly.

Results are expected to start emerging towards midnight andtrends should be clear late on Tuesday morning.

Most analysts doubt the PPP can win a majority. Who itchooses for coalition partners will be vital to Musharraf'sfuture.

"We will try and take all friends and foes together,"Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari and co-chairman of the PPP,said in a speech on the eve of the vote.

An alliance between the PPP and the other main oppositionparty, led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, is whatMusharraf dreads as Sharif is intent on bringing him down,perhaps through impeachment by parliament.

Analysts say Musharraf is aiming for a coalition betweenthe PPP and the party that backs him, the Pakistan MuslimLeague (PML).

Western allies, who want a stable Pakistan focused onfighting al Qaeda and the Taliban, are hoping moderate forceswill prevail.

Investors in a stock market that rose 40 percent last year,and has shed six percent since Bhutto's death, feel the same.

(To read more about the Pakistan election double click on;and visit the Reuters blog "Pakistan: Now or Never?" athttp://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/)

(Editing by Robert Birsel)