A bi-election designed to clear the path for Pakistan's finance minister to assume the premiership got under way in two constituencies on Wednesday. Shaukat Aziz, a former Citibank executive who is a strong ally of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was on the ballot in Attock, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of the capital, and in Tharparkar, in southern Sindh province. Lawmakers from both constituencies resigned so that Aziz could win a seat in the National Assembly, or lower house. Under Pakistani law, a prime minister must also be a member of the assembly. Musharraf's government made Aziz the prime minister-designate after Zafarullah Khan Jamali stepped down in June. The ruling PML-Q party named Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as caretaker prime minister until Aziz could win the bi-election and formally be sworn in to the lower house. In Attock, the country's opposition parties have fielded Sikandar Hayyat, a leader of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, to face Aziz. In Tharparkar, there will be a contest between Aziz and Mahesh Mallani, a leader of Bhutto's party. Senior officials of Pakistan Election Commission are monitoring the election process in both constituencies.
