Dec 30, 2007
Bhutto’s son to lead her party
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — Benazir Bhutto’s 19-year-old son will succeed her as chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, officials announced Sunday. “I’m thankful for the CEC (Central Election Commission) for imposing their trust in me as chairman of the Pakistan’s People’s Party,” Bilawal Zardari said at a news conference, speaking in English.
“Like all chairmen of the PPP, I will stand as the symbol of the federation. The party’s long and historic struggle for democracy will continue with renewed vigor, and I stand committed to the stability of the federation.
“My mother always said democracy is the best revenge.”
Bhutto had named her husband Asif Ali Zardari to head the Pakistan People’s Party in her will, which was read on Sunday, but he handed over the position to the couple’s son, PPP official Makhdoom Amin Faheem said.
The party accepted that decision in a meeting following the reading of the will.
Party officials told CNN that the younger Zardari will take over as chairman once he completes his studies. Until then, senior party advisers will lead the PPP.
Ali Zardari announced that the party will participate in the upcoming parliamentary election which is scheduled for January 8 but could be postponed in the wake of Bhutto’s assassination.
He also said the party is asking the United Nations to investigate the circumstances of Bhutto’s December 27 killing.
Controversy has been growing about the circumstances of Bhutto’s death. The government insists she died after hitting her head on a sunroof lever, while a top aide said she suffered bullet wounds to her head.
Across her home province of Sindh, protesters outraged at Bhutto’s killing have burned election offices, where voter rolls and ballot boxes are kept, potentially derailing preparations for the vote, according to media reports.
Dozens of people have been killed, and buildings and vehicles damaged there and in other locations throughout Pakistan. Sindh is a bastion of support for Bhutto’s .
The Pakistani election commission plans to meet on Monday to discuss the elections for parliament — which will eventually choose the prime minister.
Nawaz Sharif, another key Pakistani opposition leader and former prime minister, has said that he and his party would boycott the vote.
Political turmoil has marked Pakistan since President Pervez Musharraf imposed an emergency declaration on November 3, a decree he lifted earlier this month.
He suspended and later reinstated the constitution. He removed the country’s Supreme Court justices, replacing them with his own choices.
Opposition parties, including Bhutto’s, had demanded the emergency declaration be lifted as a condition for their participation in the elections.
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