Bhutto party says would oppose Pakistan poll delay

KARACHI (Reuters) - The party of slain Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto does not want next week's scheduled general election postponed because a delay would help its political opponents, a party spokeswoman said on Monday.

"We don't want any delay. That's what we have asked (for)," Farzana Raja said after the Election Commission met to consider delaying the January 8 poll.

The commission is due to make a decision on Tuesday.

Political analysts say Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, now led by her widower and 19-year-old son, would win a big sympathy vote if polls were held as planned or with only a short delay.

A lengthy delay could dissipate emotional support for the party and help the PML (Quaid-e-Azam), a party allied with President Pervez Musharraf who seized power in a 1999 military coup and is under intense pressure to hold democratic elections.

Farzana repeated comments made by Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, that the party was ready for an election but she declined to go further when asked about a very short delay of a week or two.

"We are ready to participate in elections," she said. "We are not talking about any delay."

(Reporting by Mark Bendeich; editing by Roger Crabb)