Lawmakers in parliament and Pakistan's four provincial assemblies took part in yesterday's vote. The Supreme Court says no winner can be declared until it decides whether Musharraf can stand while army chief.

A deal with former PM Benazir Bhutto meant her supporters did not join an opposition boycott of the election. On Friday, Musharraf dropped corruption charges against Bhutto . . .a stride towards an expected powersharing deal. Musharraf hopes the reconciliation agreement, as it is called, will add credibility to his government. Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party is the largest in the country.

Security was tight in cities across Pakistan for yesterday's vote, after opposition parties and lawyers' groups called for protests. In Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province, police fired tear gas at lawyers protesting near the assembly building.

Musharraf 's supporters dominate the assemblies, thanks to elections five years ago widely condemned as rigged.

Pakistan has been engulfed in political upheaval in recent months, at the same time as the security forces have suffered a series of blows from pro-Taliban militants opposed to General Musharraf 's support for the USled "war on terror". Musharraf will step down as army chief, but only if he wins the election, his lawyers have said.

But Friday's ruling by the Supreme Court throws the presidential election into confusion. Government officials called the decision a formality but analysts said it was a serious setback that would place a question mark over the legitimacy of the poll.

It means that even if Musharraf does get the most votes he cannot be declared winner until the court has decided if he was a valid candidate in the first place.