June vote postponed by 2 months

Pakistan’s election commission postponed by two months polling for legislative seats that had been due in June, drawing protests from governing parties, whose leaders were mulling runs for parliament.

The commission said it was responding to a busy calendar and security concerns. A spokesman for President Pervez Musharraf rejected a claim that he was behind the delay.

Anti-Musharraf parties swept the general elections in February. But voting in some areas was voided or delayed.

Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, has said he may stand for the seat that Bhutto had hoped to contest. Aides of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Zardari’s main coalition partner, have said he too was interested in running.