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Musharraf's rating dives ahead of poll


Published: Feb. 11, 2008 at 10:20 AM
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's approval rating hit its lowest level a week ahead of parliamentary elections, a poll released Monday indicated.

The poll, conducted by the non-profit U.S.-based International Republican Institute, also showed the opposition parties could win a sizable victory, which could threaten Musharraf's efforts to stay in power, The Washington Post reported.

The poll results showed 15 percent of the 3,845 people surveyed approved of Musharraf's job performance, compared to 30 percent in November, the Post reported. The poll was conducted Jan. 19-29 and has a margin of sampling error of 1.69 percentage points.

The poll said 72 percent of respondents supported Pakistan's two main opposition parties. With such a support base, the parties could win a two-thirds majority in Parliament, enough to impeach Musharraf, the report said.

"If a coalition of revenge gets a two-thirds majority, he's done. Absolutely done," C. Christine Fair, a senior political analyst at the Rand Corp. research institution, told the Post.

Musharraf's political woes have been compounded by his own actions such as imposition of emergency rule, dismissal of high court judges and his own re-election, which was widely challenged.

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BUSH PAKISTAN MUSHARRAF
Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf speaks to reporters in the East Room of the White House on September 22, 2006. U.S. President George W. Bush and Musharraf met earlier in the Oval Office to discuss terrorism and other matters. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg)
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