ISLAMABAD: Despite widespread criticism of his presidential candidature by his political opponents, the PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari is all set to make it to the presidency on Saturday, although he has not travelled outside Islamabad for campaigning like his other two contenders and has remained confined to Prime Ministers House for two weeks because of security concerns.
The government circles claim that Zardari will become the eleventh president of the country today despite the fact that his former coalition partner - the Sharif-led PML - has fielded its own candidate. The PML candidate, Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, and the PML-Qs Mushahid Hussain Sayed are running hectic campaigns despite knowing well that they stand no chance of winning.
While Justice Siddiqui has so far showed restraint and has not issued any statement against his rival candidates, Mushahid Hussain is engaged in what has been described as a vitriolic campaign, mostly targeting Asif Zardari, with the PPP leaders busy rebutting his widespread allegations through press conferences and statements.
That the almost guaranteed winner of the current presidential, Zardari, is a mixed bag is undeniable. Zardari -- who earned the moniker "Mr. 10%" for allegedly demanding kickbacks during his wifes two prime ministerial terms in 1988 and 1993,has been dogged by accusations of corruption which are now being exploited by his opponents, especially the PML-Q.
Interestingly, however, instead of targeting the PML-Q candidate in turn, the PPP is criticising the PML-N candidate by highlighting his role in the 1997 judicial crisis which led to the ouster of former apex court chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah.
Nonetheless, as things stand, Zardari is most likely to win the presidential race with a wide margin of at least 100 plus votes.
