Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has asked people to vote in the upcoming general election for candidates who had ‘been with him’ in the past.

Addressing a meeting at Vehari in Punjab province after inaugurating a gas project on Monday, Musharraf said the continuity of official policies and projects “depended on the re-election of people who had initiated them”.
The gathering largely comprised candidates of the PML-Q, the party which backed the military ruler, their supporters and government employees.

Musharraf said the January 8 parliamentary polls will be free, fair and transparent and pledged that power will be transferred to whoever won a majority.

“The elections will not be rigged and politicians should not pre-judge the entire exercise,” he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. “I assure you that the polls will be completely free of any manipulation and I ask the international community to send any number of observers to monitor the elections.”

Musharraf said: “I appeal to all parties to ensure peace during the elections and to accept the people’s verdict without resorting to a blame game.