Pakistan's parliamentary elections tomorrow have already prompted more questions than answers over ways of resolving the internal political conflict engulfing the South Asian country.
One element in Pakistan's murky political picture is the absence of genuine political players, other than those who have been tried, tested, and have tragically failed in the past.
But the other more serious element fuelling the uncertainty surrounding Pakistan is the continued dominance of the country by President Pervez Musharraf, whose controversial eight-year rule has dragged Pakistan from one controversy to another.
In the past year, Musharraf has exposed himself to more fronts that those faced by any other Pakistani leader in the country's 61-year history. He has fought with senior judges, braved protests from civil society activists and lawyers, defied the political opposition seeking his resignation and, lately, even fought hard against senior retired army officers after they called upon him to resign.
Lost the game
Tomorrow's election, strangely enough, is just partly about the future of Pakistan. In the immediate aftermath of the election, the wider issue facing Pakistan will be Musharraf's future.
By all accounts, it seems Musharraf has already lost the game. With his political reputation badly tarnished under the weight of controversies from the past year, the president has entered the election process with many challenges surrounding him.
His decision to get himself re-elected in October 2007 while still serving as chief of the army staff evoked widespread criticism. The presidential election was seen in many circles as a case of Musharraf forcing his way through the process at the point of a gun.
Ultimately, Musharraf's retirement from the army and the installation of the now widely respected General Ashfaq Kiyani as the new army chief has helped lift the Pakistani military's sagging credentials. But that in itself has failed to answer the criticism aimed at the president.
Protests
For many in Pakistan, Musharraf's own departure from the country's political scene will help consolidate and indeed improve the outlook. But he, of course, appears unwilling to reconsider his own position.
Musharraf has promised to oversee the polls in a transparent, free and fair manner. And yet, even before he renewed his pledge to carry forward the "mother of all elections", his own sincerity and that of his government was in doubt.
For the past many weeks, opposition candidates have openly questioned the government's sincerity, raising concerns over matters ranging from a heavy administrative tilt in favour of pro-government candidates to the refusal by the national election commission for a timely acknowledgement of, and action on complaints against pro-Musharraf candidates.
The resultant messiness of the election is therefore in no doubt. In the immediate aftermath of the elections, protests against the polls will become the norm if opposition parties question the outcome of elections.
Even if a new parliament, consisting largely of pro-Musharraf members, is sworn in, such a legislature will have questions of credibility consistently haunting its members. Alternatively, an opposition- led government will have a friction-ridden relationship with Musharraf from day one.
It is hard to imagine how such a new parliament, whose members do not want to work with the president, could be to Musharraf's advantage.
Suffer
Ultimately, the danger is that Pakistan will suffer badly, as long as Musharraf remains in charge of the country. His departure from the political scene, should that happen, will not immediately fix the challenges faced by the country. But it will be a very crucial first step towards a tempering down in Pakistan's political atmosphere, just when the country needs it most.
In the short term, a new government that works towards the cause of uniting Pakistan will offer the best hope for the country's immediate, medium-term and long-term future.
The discord that has set in under Musharraf has divided Pakistan across the political, ethnic and even religious spectrum.
A national effort under a new government to begin uniting Pakistan must be undertaken with the principal objective of undoing the damage done under Musharraf's rule.
Just a decision by the new political order to stop the fighting amongst different groups - that have all been confronted repeatedly by Musharraf - could be a vital first step towards turning around Pakistan's increasingly uncertain future.
Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.
