Pakistan elections 'seriously flawed'

Islamist advance: Hardline anti-American alliance takes control of key provinces on border with Afghanistan

Observers from the European Union yesterday blamed Pakistan's government for "serious flaws" in its general election, and questioned claims by the military President, Pervez Musharraf, to be returning the country to a civilian democracy.

The criticism came as policy makers from as far afield as Delhi and Washington were scrutinising the election's startling side effect – the strong gains made by a hardline, anti-American Islamic alliance, the Muthahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).

In a preliminary report, the EU observers said that the authorities in Pakistan had misused government resources to favour certain political parties, in particular the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam, or PML (QA). Known in Pakistan as the "King's Party" because it has the support of General Musharraf and the army, it won the largest number of seats but unexpectedly failed to secure a majority.

The EU observers criticised the government's moves to limit the power of the new legislature, its bar on opposition candidates and its use of government resources to help pro-Musharraf candidates. The same election was described by the US State Department on Friday as "an important milestone in the transition to democracy".

In the months before the poll, General Musharraf accorded himself the power to sack the Prime Minister and dissolve the legislature.

Pakistan's independent Human Rights Commission has accused the government officials of "blatantly coercing" voters into supporting pro-Musharraf candidates. And former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who were barred from running, have been scathing. Mr Sharif said that the "worst kind of rigging" had occurred.

The EU's conclusions were blunt. "The Pakistan authorities engaged in a course of action which resulted in serious flaws in the electoral process," said John Cushnahan, the EU's chief election observer. There were also "serious doubts" about whether or not Pakistan will make the transition from military rule – which began when General Musharraf seized power in a coup three years ago – to civilian government.

The election results were far from an outright victory for the President, however, though his friends in the PML (QA) have the most seats – 77 – in the 272-strong National Assembly. Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party was second with 63 seats, followed by the MMA, a coalition of six Islamist religious parties, with 45.

This will be the issue of most concern to the Americans, who regard Pakistan as a crucial ally in its "war on terror". The MMA triumphed in North-West Frontier Province, along the border with Afghanistan, and is positioned to form the first Islamist provincial government in Pakistan's history.

The coalition also won the highest number of seats in Baluchistan, also bordering Afghanistan. Several Taliban and al-Qa'ida leaders are believed to be in hiding in both provinces. The question that will occupy the White House is whether this will obstruct its hunt for those men or the use by the US of military bases inside Pakistan.