Washington: The US State Department has criticised the national referendum through which Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf secured a mandate to extend his term and said he still continues to "dominate" the elected government.

Musharraf, who took over power in a bloodless coup in October 1999, held a nationwide referendum on April 30, 2002, to extend his Presidency by five years "although critics and legal scholars argued that a President cannot be elected by referendum", the Department said in its annual report for 2002 released on March 31.

Musharraf claimed a 97.5 per cent vote in favour of the extension but "many independent observers cited evidence of systematic fraud an inflated voting figures", it said.

Shortly after the referendum, Musharraf announced a controversial package of Constitutional amendments, the Legislative Framework Order (LFO), which amended the suspended Constitution to allow him to dismiss the Prime Minister and dissolve the Parliament.

The report said Opposition politicians, lawyers, civil society groups and many in the international community expressed concern about the amendment package and its Constitutional legitimacy but the first national and provincial Assembly elections since the coup were held under the auspices of the LFO-amended Constitution.

"International observers, non-governmental organisations, and Human Rights activists, including the European Union election observation mission, alleged serious flaws in the national and provincial election framework," it said.

Musharraf and the Pakistan military continued to dominate the elected government, the report said.

PTI