Pakistan Starts General Election

Voting has got off to a slow start in Pakistan. Financial markets and schools are closed as the country takes the day off. But fears of violence are overshadowing the general election. 80,000 troops are supporting police to watch over a vote that could return the country to democratic rule. Here's more.

STORY:

This election was originally scheduled for early January but was delayed because of the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The death of Bhutto, and concerns about stability in the nuclear-armed state, means the vote is being keenly watched by allies and neighbors.

But fear of violence could hurt the turnout. Gunmen opened fire on an election office in Lahore yesterday. One man who was a candidate for the Pakistan Muslim Leage-N was killed, and five others injured.

Other Pakistani voters are hoping for a peaceful election.

[Riaz Ahmad, Karachi Resident]:

"We hope the polling takes place in peace across Pakistan, and God willing, the process is completed in a peaceful manner."

Suspected militants set off bombs at two polling stations in the northwest before polls opened. On Saturday a suicide attack on supporters of Bhutto's party killed 47 people in a town near the Afghan border.<