Landslide vote picks Bhutto's widower as Pakistani president

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Benazir Bhutto's widower swept Pakistan's presidential election Saturday, offering hope for stability to a nuclear-armed country feeling intense U.S. pressure to crack down on Islamic militants.

Already head of the main ruling party, Asif Ali Zardari becomes one of the most powerful civilian leaders in Pakistan's turbulent 61-year history. Last month, he marshaled a coalition that forced stalwart U.S. ally Pervez Musharraf to quit as head of state.

However, he begins with limited goodwill among a population who recall his nickname, Mr. Ten Percent, for alleged corruption during Bhutto's two terms in office as prime minister and doubt his political vision and leadership skills.

He is also untested on the international stage, where he must deal with mounting Western concern over how Taliban and al-Qaida militants have nested in the tribal belt along the Afghan border.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was looking forward to working with Zardari.

"I've been impressed by some of the things he has said about the challenges that Pakistan faces, about the centrality of fighting terrorism, about the fact that the terrorism fight is Pakistan's fight and also his very strong words of friendship and alliance with the United States," Rice told reporters on a trip to North Africa.

Zardari made no mention of those topics as he savored his triumph over Musharraf, during whose reign he sat for years in jail on graft charges that never produced a conviction.

A beaming Zardari hugged and shook hands with supporters and well-wishers gathering for a dinner Saturday in the gardens of the prime minister's residence on a hill overlooking the capital.

In a brief speech, he rejected criticism that he would be a divisive leader and took a swipe at Musharraf.

"To those who would say that the People's Party or the presidency would be controversial under our guardianship, under our stewardship, I would say listen to democracy," he said.

Echoing one of Bhutto's favorite slogans, he called democracy "the best revenge" against military rulers.

Zardari has surprised many with his ability to concentrate power since his wife was assassinated in a December gun-and-bomb attack blamed on Taliban militants and he inherited her party's leadership.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's party abandoned the coalition and switched to the opposition last month. But Zardari quickly won support from smaller parties, suggesting he could provide some stability as the country faces soaring inflation, power shortages and widening trade and budget deficits.

Official results gave Zardari more than two-thirds of the votes -- two opponents sharing the rest -- setting the stage for him to be sworn in within days.

Pro-Zardari lawmakers, some in tears, shouted "Long live Bhutto!" as the vote tallies came in. The couple's two jubilant but tearful daughters, one carrying a portrait of their late mother, smiled and hugged friends in the gallery of the National Assembly.

In the southern city of Karachi, capital of Zardari's home province, supporters waved his party's tricolor flags, beat drums and danced in the streets, chanting "Zardari is the strongest."