Pakistan swears in elected lawmakers

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Lawmakers in Pakistan's first democratically elected legislature in three years were sworn in Saturday and said the makeup of the government would be known in a few days.

The new government will test President Pervez Musharraf's pledge to return Pakistan to democracy and his ability to maintain his country's position as a key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Musharraf remains Pakistan's most powerful figure because of changes to the constitution made during his military rule that give him authority to fire the legislature if it steps out of line. Musharraf was sworn in as president for five more years at a separate ceremony Saturday.

Legislators briefly debated Saturday whether to take the oath of office under the constitution. But in the end they did, raising their hands and vowing to uphold the constitution.

No single party won a clear majority at the elections. The largest bloc is the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League, which controls 103 seats in the 342-seat lower house. Exiled prime minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's party has the next largest number of seats with 80.

An alliance of six right-wing religious parties elected on strong anti-U.S. sentiment controls 59 seats. Independents and other smaller parties hold 100 seats.

The religious alliance has emerged as the powerbroker and is jockeying for key posts in the new government.

Maluana Fazl-ur Rahman, who leads one of the religious parties, said Saturday his demand for the prime minister's post was not negotiable.

Rahman is staunchly pro-Taliban but says he would support a more pragmatic approach to foreign policy if he is in government, indicating he might not change Pakistan's support for the war on terror.

Bhutto's party has agreed to form a coalition with the religious alliance and to accept Rahman as prime minister.

The pro-Musharraf party was also negotiating with the religious right for its support. But so far they are at odds over a candidate for prime minister.

Musharraf is to hand day-to-day running of the country to a prime minister and Cabinet when legislators seal the coalition deal.

Some lawmakers said they still want Musharraf to restore the 1973 constitution, which would remove his right to dismiss the parliament.

"The president should have no constitutional or legal status unless his presidency is approved by two-thirds majority of Parliament," said Ahmed. "It needs validation."

The president's right to fire governments was used several times in the 1990s. Bhutto was twice dismissed by a president on corruption charges. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was once dismissed by a president and later overthrown by Musharraf in the October 1999 coup.

Musharraf says the right to dismiss parliament provides a check on a political system rife with corruption.

Musharraf was given a five-year term in office in a controversial referendum held earlier this year. He won that referendum with 98 percent of the vote, despite accusations of widespread manipulation.