A survey released on Thursday – just four weeks ahead of the crucial elections- shows that the majority of Pakistani voters would like strongman President Pervez Musharraf to resign. The country's main opposition parties enjoy the support of the majority, the survey says.

The study shows that about 72 per cent of those questioned said they did not support Musharraf’s re-election, while 67 per cent said he should just resign. This shows that the people of Pakistan were strongly against Musharraf’s decisions implemented in the country last month, when he declared the state of emergency and then suspended the constitution and sacked the judges of the Supreme Court fearing that they would nullify his October re-election.

The survey was conducted in late November by the Washington-based political organization fund International Republican Institute on 3,520 people nationwide.

"Musharraf's move polarized the country, and this polarization carries through the other attitudes and opinions of the Pakistani electorate," the survey concluded.
 
"Throughout the poll, 25 to 33 per cent remained supportive of President Musharraf and were positive about the condition of the country. Seventy-five to 66 per cent expressed anger at the current state of affairs, desired change and were anti-Musharraf."

Musharraf’s main political backer, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), has the support of only 23 per cent of those polled, while the country's chief opposition parties, 's Pakistan People's Party and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N, had 30 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

The major opposition parties made it clear that they have agreed to contest the January 8 elections. They are already claiming that Musharraf's government is working to arrange so the polls would favor him.

Benazir Bhutto, the first woman elected to lead a post-colonial Muslim state, has urged her supporters to begin preparations to stage street protests beginning the day after the election.