Endorsing Musharraf's ambition

Musharraf is confident he will win another five years in power

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- He seized control of Pakistan in a military coup two and a half years ago. Since then, he's repeatedly promised to restore democracy.

But now, President Pervez Musharraf has called a referendum aimed at keeping himself in power for five more years.

Musharraf says the referendum is necessary to secure a popular mandate for his economic reforms and continuing crackdown on terrorism.

Many Pakistanis, however, see the move as an undemocratic ploy by an un-elected military strongman determined to hang on to power.

For all the trappings of a conventional political campaign, the only question on the ballot is whether the voters endorse Musharraf's ambition, and he has mobilized the vast resources of the state to ensure that the answer is yes.

"It's totally unprecedented. We've never seen anything like it," newspaper editor Najam Sethi told CNN.

EXTRA INFORMATION IN-DEPTH: Referendum on the President

Among the moves aimed at guaranteeing a big pro-Musharraf turnout: increasing the number of polling stations; reducing the voting age; and relaxing the rules on identifying prospective voters.

"There's going to be a stampede of pro-Musharraf people who are going to run from one polling booth to another and vote as many times as they can," Sethi says.

One goal

But Pakistani journalists seeking to raise these or other critical issues in the run up to the referendum have found themselves under intense pressure from the authorities.

"They are saying write according to our wishes, not based on truth," says journalist Rumman Ihsan.

Badges of former prime ministers on sale at an anti-referendum public rally called by the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy

Ajmal Niazi is a distinguished professor at the same college in Lahore that Pervez Musharraf attended. He spoke out against the referendum. Now, he's lost his job.

"The steps they're taking have only one goal," he says, "to win the referendum. Everybody knows what they're doing to achieve that end. But does that really count as a victory?"

One way it counts for President Musharraf, observers say, is that it secures his position ahead of parliamentary elections due by October.

And it freezes out Pakistan's main political parties who are expected to dominate the new parliament, which would normally have the job of choosing a president.

Defying government pressure, the parties held a joint rally this weekend to urge voters to boycott the referendum.

Critics claim that Musharraf's actions make him little different than Pakistan's previous military dictators who sidelined democracy to keep themselves in power.