Pakistan's grim mood

How will he do it, how will President Gen. Pervez Musharraf rig Pakistan's parliamentary elections today to ensure his hold on power?

The mechanics of how the fix will be accomplished stir more tension than they do doubts about the outcome. Such is the bleak state of democratic affairs in the aftermath of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's murder last month.Musharraf is not on the ballot, but the political struggle is over parliamentary control and his exposure to being removed from office. A Gallup Poll found only 15 percent of the population expects anything approaching an honest vote. The anger over Bhutto's assassination and displeasure with the former general's bludgeoning of democracy are not likely to be measured by the final tally of the ballots.

The dynamic political ferment is present to challenge Musharraf's party. His Pakistan Muslim League-Q has suffered defections in rural strongholds. The Pakistan Peoples Party has been rallied by Bhutto's husband, even with the history of financial scandal and corruption that engulfs him like a dust cloud. The man Musharraf deposed eight years ago, Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, is a popular, if absent, figure. He was out of the country attending to a family medical emergency.

Helping fuel the low expectations for this election is the Bush administration's view of Musharraf as a steadfast ally and a bulwark against instability in Pakistan.

Honest elections that allow a sharp turn away from Musharraf would be most welcome. And most unexpected.