Pakistan's former prime minister, Ms Benazir Bhutto, seemed last night to rule out a coalition with the country's main pro-military party and instead hinted she was exploring an alliance with Islamic religious parties after their unexpected success in last week's elections.
Ms Bhutto has said she would be ready to do a deal with the Islamic right if it moderated its policy of closing all US bases in Pakistan. "We can do business with anybody who reflects the spirit of the constitution," she said.
Ms Bhutto described last week's general election as "rigged" and accused Pakistan's military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, of pursuing a "personal vendetta" to stop her party winning.
The military establishment had stuffed ballot boxes in key seats and had included votes of people who were "dead or non-existent", she claimed.
Ms Bhutto said the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of six anti-American Islamic groups, had done better than expected because Gen Musharraf had "marginalised" her and "created a political vacuum".
"The west should stop supporting him," she said.
Her Pakistan's People's party won 62 seats, making it the second biggest party. It could theoretically form a government with the MMA, which won 49 seats and holds the balance of power in the new assembly.
However, the pro-military party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam), with 77 seats, will probably try to form a governing coalition with independents and the MMA, observers believe.
With no party gaining a majority, intense political jockeying is under way. Last night, Ms Bhutto said she and the religious parties wanted to overturn a series of constitutional amendments made by Gen Musharraf in the run-up to the polls, giving him the power to sack the new prime minister and parliament.
Her party could form a coalition with the MMA if it was prepared to put its opposition to US troops in Pakistan on the "backburner", she said.
Before the election, Gen Musharraf accused Ms Bhutto of corruption and threatened to arrest her if she returns from exile in London. - (Guardian Service)