Time for New Leadership. A time for Oppositions

Taiwan and Pakistan had recently seen the triumph of opposition parties in their recently concluded elections not my a mere victory but by a landslide. These triumphs shows the truthfulness of the Latin phrase "Vox Populi" or the Voice of the People. In these elections the voice of the people indeed triumphed and they wanted change and new leadership for their country.

In Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf swore in a loyalist of slain ex-leader Benazir Bhutto as prime minister Tuesday. Yousaf Raza Gilani, who will front a new government vowing to cut back the U.S.-backed president's powers, took the oath from Musharraf at a stiff ceremony in Islamabad.

Meanwhile in Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou soundly defeated Frank Hsieh to end eight years of control by Chen's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP. Ma's main campaign promise was to reverse Chen's policy of emphasizing Taiwan's political separateness from China; he says he will work to take fuller advantage of the mainland's economic boom.

The two election victories offers two distinctive different pictures. The first sees a road to democracy for Pakistan while the second sees a more pro-China and pro-Communism revival. But both choices had been the voice of the people and it is what the people wanted.