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Islamabad: Pervez Musharraf's opponents said on Tuesday they would try to form a coalition, after winning an election that cast doubt over how long the US-allied Pakistani president can stay in power.
The Pakistan People's Party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto emerged as the largest party in the 342-seat National Assembly, although it failed to win a majority.
As of 6 p.m., unofficial results for 252 seats showed the PPP had won 86 and Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) had 65.
The pro-Musharraf PML trailed with 37. Small parties and independents shared the others.
Counting was continuing with results still awaited in less than 20 seats, but no party could win a majority.
A few seats weren't contested, while 70 reserved for women and religious minorities will be divided up proportionately among parties according to the number of votes they won.
Musharraf has said he would accept the results and work with whoever won to build democracy in a country that has alternated between civilian and army rule throughout its 60-year history.
A hostile parliament could seek to oust Musharraf, who came to power in a coup in 1999 and is accused of violating the constitution when he imposed six weeks of emergency rule in November to secure five more years as president.
Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower, said the PPP had the right to form a coalition government, adding there would be no place in it for the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (PML).
"As the largest political force of the country, we demand that we be allowed to make the government," he told a news conference in Islamabad.
"For now, the decision of the party is that we are not interested in any of those people who are part and parcel of the last government," Zardari said, appearing to leave open the option of changing his mind later.
Zardari, who took over the leadership of the PPP after Bhutto's death, said he would try to persuade Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf overthrew, to join a coalition.
Speaking at a news conference in Lahore, Sharif urged Musharraf to accept he was no longer wanted.
Sharif said he planned to meet Zardari, who took over the helm of the PPP, on Thursday.
"I am looking forward to working with all democratic forces," he said.
"I invite all to sit together and free Pakistan of dictatorship, sit together to say goodbye to dictatorship forever."
Some analysts said differences between the PPP and Sharif's party made a coalition doubtful.
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