By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, February 7, 2008; A16
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 6 -- Despite the candidates' colorful posters papering road signs and storefronts, the political atmosphere two weeks before Pakistan's parliamentary elections is as bleak and foreboding as the gray winter sky shrouding much of the country.
Candidates have largely abstained from any meaningful campaigning given their fears of bombings and the government's decision to discourage large public rallies. The December assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has left the opposition without its most popular leader and cast a persistent pall over the run-up to the elections.
Many Pakistanis are convinced that the Feb. 18 polling will be systematically rigged by the caretaker government and that, as a result, angry opposition supporters will erupt in violence. While U.S. and European officials have pressed Pakistan to proceed with the vote, some here still expect the elections to be postponed at the last minute. Even if the vote is held, its credibility will be in doubt.
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