Karachi: A day before the general elections in Pakistan, fears of violence and vote-rigging is rife.
On Saturday, Pakistan was once again rocked by poll-related violence when a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a rally outside the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) office at Parachinar, in the Northwest frontier, killing 37 people and injuring 90 more.
On the political front, opinion polls say it could be a hung parliament. However, efforts by the PPP and Nawaz Sharif to forge a grand coalition have fallen through.
Ahead of Monday's polls there are fears that the country might witness more violence.
"About 20 per cent say there is a high chance of violence, another 30 per cent or so say there is a modest level of violence expectation,” Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani of Gallup Pakistan.
Nevertheless, opposition parties are still hoping that violence won't deter voters.
For the PPP and PML-N to realize those hopes though they will need high voter turnout and those hopes are receiving blows with continued attacks on election process.
Another concern is the fact that no party seems to have a clear lead.
On Saturday, the Nawaz Sharif-Asif Zardari meeting in Lahore ended without any agreement on a possible alliance.
While both the PPP and the PML-N claim they will get majority, the latest survey by Gallup Pakistan suggest otherwise.
"The Pakistan People's Party is quite sure to be in the lead in the share of votes, but interestingly not necessarily in the share in the seats in the parliament,” says Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani of Gallup Pakistan.
The survey says the PPP will win 35 per cent of the votes followed by Nawaz Sharif with 25 per cent and the pro-Musharaf PML-Q with 15 per cent.
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