( AFP ) - Pakistan's election commission Thursday named October 6 as the date for a presidential poll in which military ruler Pervez Musharraf will seek re-election in uniform.
Musharraf said through his lawyer earlier this week that if he wins another five-year term as president he will stand down as chief of the army, his main backer since he seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
"Nominations must be filed by September 27, the scrutiny of the nominations will be on September 29 and October 6 will be the election," the commission's secretary Kanwar Dilshad told AFP.
The election is not by universal suffrage but by a ballot of Pakistan's parliament and its four provincial assemblies, which have all been in place since 2002.
Opposition parties have called for Musharraf to seek re-election from a new parliament and have also threatened to resign from the assembly if he does not quit his military role ahead before a vote.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a series of legal challenges against Musharraf's dual role and his eligibility to stand in the election.
It is expected to rule on Friday.