Bhutto’s Regional Victory Strengthens Bid for Power

Benazir Bhutto and her allies won closely contested elections in the key province of Punjab today, strengthening her attempts to return to power and form a workable national government.

Her liberal Pakistan People’s Party emerged from Wednesday’s national elections with the most seats in the National Assembly. The party claimed to have enough support to form a coalition that would return Bhutto as prime minister.

But she needed support from Punjab, the largest and most influential of the country’s four provinces and home to more than half of Pakistan’s 120 million people.

She won Saturday’s provincial polls in Punjab because of an alliance she formed with a breakaway faction of the conservative Pakistan Muslim League.

Bhutto’s party won 93 seats and her allies 18 seats for a total of 111 in the 240-seat provincial legislature. But to form the government in Punjab, Bhutto must find more allies, probably from among the 17 independent candidates.

Her previous government collapsed in 1990 partly because the Punjab government opposed her. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, her opponent in the national election, faced similar problems and resigned in July.

About 40% of registered voters appeared to cast ballots, about the same as in the national election.

Meanwhile Saturday, the French newspaper Le Monde quoted Bhutto as saying that Pakistan intends to continue trying to develop nuclear arms. The United States has imposed sanctions on Pakistan for pursuing its nuclear program.