English/Nat Candidates in Pakistan's elections entered the last stretch of campaigning on Friday before voters go to the polls on Monday. Ousted prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her main rival, Nawaz Sharif, were out and about trying to persuade voters to back their rival parties. Election campaigning for both Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League has been plagued by what appears to be voter apathy. On Friday, however, Sharif appeared to have gained an edge over his opponent in the bitterly-contested race. Thousands of people turned out on Friday for a rally for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Rawalpindi, ranking it as one of the biggest in this election campaign so far. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League and Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party are the main contenders for the election due on February 3. The enthusiastic crowds at Friday's rally for Sharif made for one of the more lively rallies seen so far in the election run-up. Observers have suggested that voters are dissatisfied with the two parties, both of which have been plagued by accusations of widespread corruption. Nonetheless, Sharif's party is tipped to win most of the 217-seat National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, on Monday - an expectation echoed by Sharif himself. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We were a very popular party in 1993. We are more popular now. In 1993, we pulled more votes than People's Party. Our vote bank was the largest in the country. And in 1993 (HE MEANS 1997), I think our vote bank is going to grow more." SUPER CAPTION: Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and leader of the Muslim Pakistan League Sharif was prime minister from 1990 to 1993, when his term in office was abruptly ended by President Farooq Leghari amid accusations of corruption. Leghari was also responsible for ousting Benazir Bhutto from the prime minister's post last November - again on disputed charges of corruption and misrule. While neither candidate appears ideal, some analysts say voters in Pakistan are likely to have resigned themselves to choosing the lesser of two evils. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Surprisingly they have forgotten Nawaz Sharif's corruption and getting his priorities his wrong--slashing the education budget together with the rest of the social sector budget. Voters tend to have a very small, you know, a very short memory. But the fact is that Benazir Bhutto's government, the hell they've played in the last three years, hasn't helped either. It's more of an anti-Benazir Bhutto vote more than a pro-Nawaz Sharif vote." SUPER CAPTION: Mariana Baabar, special correspondent for the News Bhutto appealed the charges laid against her and her party, but the nation's Supreme Court this week upheld Leghari's decision to sack her. In the midst of all the political turmoil, Leghari - once a former opposition politician himself - and his interim government have tried to inject a measure of stability. Leghari announced the creation of a new National Defence and Security Council early this month, thereby giving the armed forces a formal role in the nation's politics. The ten-member Council is to be an assembly of the top military chiefs and political ministers, all headed by Leghari. The president said the Council could help prevent another dissolution of parliament or even a military coup in an environment where politics of revenge is the name of the game. Sharif argues, however, that his party will not tolerate any such acts of vengeance. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We will not indulge into any, any politics of revenge. The accountability will carry on, and the accountability which is independent. It will be free of any influences of the government." You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/de7f8fc2741a076643f21a4648eae51e Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
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