The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) on Dec. 30 held its first leadership meeting to decide its future in the wake of the assassination of leader and former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto's will appoints her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, as her replacement. However, during a press conference the same day, Zardari declined the post and instead appointed the couple's son, 19-year-old Oxford student Bilawal Zardari — whose name will be changed to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — as PPP chairman. The party's central leadership committee has ruled that Zardari will serve as co-chairman. At the press conference, Zardari also said that the PPP has decided to run in the planned Jan. 8 parliamentary elections. By participating in the polls despite Bhutto's death and the major riots sparked by her killing, the PPP is attempting to take advantage of the current political climate, in which there is a greater degree of support and sympathy for the party than before. Meanwhile, the second-largest party, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, has reversed its boycott and said it will participate in the polls. It is unclear at this point whether these elections can or will take place on time. The government of President Pervez Musharraf has come out in favor of delaying them and already has issued reports intended to justify pushing them back until at least March — with some within its ranks even suggesting postponing them until after the month of Muharram. Muharram begins in approximately 10 days is known to be fraught with significant Sunni-Shiite violence, which could compound the country's problems, given the unrest and insecurity there. Musharraf prefers to postpone the elections because of the growing public perception that elements within the country's intelligence establishment, together with the PPP's militant and political opponents, were responsible for Bhutto's death. The pro-Musharraf faction of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) is fearful that anti-government sentiment, which has gained momentum in the aftermath of Bhutto's assassination, could deliver it a political defeat. The party wants to delay the vote in order to block the possibility of a PPP victory, as well as any further weakening of the ruling PML and the Musharraf regime that accusations of foul play might bring. Though the PPP's political capital currently is increasing, its leaders realize that Bhutto's death has created a major leadership void. There has never been a PPP without a Bhutto at the helm. When the founder of the party, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was executed in 1979, his wife took over as chairwoman — though Benazir Bhutto, who served for a long time as the party's co-chairwoman because of her charisma and youth, exercised the real power. The appointment of Bhutto's son as chairman and her husband as co-chairman is the party's attempt to retain the Bhutto dynasty's leadership — which it needs to sustain itself as Pakistan's largest political force. This is the reason for naming Bhutto's young son to the post and the insertion of "Bhutto" in his name. However, given Bilawal's youth and political inexperience, Zardari likely will be the effective leader until his son completes school and matures. But Zardari alone cannot lead the party, especially since he also has little experience as a leader. (Others always have had more prominent leadership roles in the PPP than his, even during Bhutto's term as chairwoman, and Zardari also spent a long time as a political prisoner and had some health issues.) He also has a reputation for corruption. Therefore, Zardari will share power with Bhutto's chief deputy, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who headed the PPP while she was in exile. Fahim's presence at the press conference speaks volumes about his major role in the party. Zardari was never a candidate in the scheduled Jan. 8 parliamentary elections, and it is not clear whether he will run now. This means that, in the event of a PPP victory, Fahim could once again lead the party's parliamentary group and even become prime minister. Ultimately, this multi-person leadership could bring with it internal disagreements and weaken the PPP. However, for now, the party plans to participate in the upcoming elections — regardless of when they are held — in order to gain the maximum possible from the recent tragic circumstances.