Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has amended rules governing presidential candidates to pave the way for President Pervez Musharraf's re-election for five more years, a move decried by an opposition alliance that Sunday threatened en masse resignations.

"The CEC has amended the rules and now President Musharraf is very much eligible to contest for another five-year term," Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan told IANS.

Election Commission Secretary Kanwar M. Dilshad confirmed to IANS that the rules for the president's elections had been amended and a notification in this regard was issued Sep 10.

He said the complete text of the amended rules would be released Monday.

The controversial decision, which removes a major hurdle on the path of Musharraf's presidential ambitions, sparked strong condemnation from opposition parties.

The All Parties Democratic Alliance (APDM) demanded reconstitution of the Election Commission saying the body had become controversial, biased and partial by amending the rules for presidential elections.

Addressing a press conference here after their meeting, the APDM leaders said they had decided in principle to resign from the assemblies if the president tried to get himself elected in uniform and from the present assemblies.

The APDM, formed in London in July during the All Parties Conference called by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, includes more than 30 political parties. However, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has opted to stay out of the newly formed alliance.

But PPP too criticised the amendments. PPP leader Babar Awan, a lawyer by profession, said the Election Commission has no authority to do what it did and it had acted against the constitution.

"This is illegal and can be challenged in the Supreme Court," Awan told IANS.

Afgan said CEC is solely responsible for conducting the election.

"The CEC has issued a notification, which has become part of the official gazette, under which Musharraf can contest the election," said Afgan.

He added that after the notification, the tag of "government employee" does not apply to the president.

The CEC, retired judge Qazi Muhammad Farooq, was not available for comment.

Article 43 (1) of the constitution says: "The president shall not hold any office of profit in the service of Pakistan or occupy any other position carrying the right to remuneration for the rendering of services."

Asked about this clause, Afgan, an MP since 1985, said he was aware of each and every clause and was confident that President Musharraf can contest the election for a second term.

"I know better than anyone else... He is very much eligible to contest."

On the other hand, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) leadership has claimed that 56 percent of confirmed votes were available to re-elect Musharraf as president.

According to the constitution, a simple majority from parliament and all four provincial assemblies is required to elect a president.

The members of the lower and upper houses of the federal parliament, also known as National Assembly and Senate respectively, have one vote each in the presidential election.

In the provincial assemblies the votes are on the principle of "equal representation", irrespective of the total strength of the provincial houses.

"We have more than 56 percent votes for Musharraf in the national and provincial parliaments," PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain told reporters in Islamabad.

Besides, several members of the provincial assemblies will vote in favour of Musharraf, Hussain claimed.

The opposition was unrelenting.

"The amendment of rules shows that the Election Commission has become a party and partial... These rules have been amended just to favour the president," said Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a leader of the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).

The PPP said it would consider the next steps once the details of the amendments were made public.

The APDM, on the other hand, was on its way to a showdown with the government with the threat of resignation of its elected representatives.

It was not clear how many parliamentarians and members of provincial assemblies belong to APDM but the grouping was confident that the number was enough to make the elections controversial.

Those who addressed the APDM press conference included leaders of the MMA, Imran Khan of Tehrik-e-Insaaf, Raja Zafarul Haq of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Mahmood Khan Achakzai of PKMAP and Asfandyar Khan of Awami National Party.

"We'll go to courts, we'll go to public and would make every effort to block President Pervez Musharraf's way to get re-elected for another five years," Raja Zafarul Haq announced at the outset of the press meet.

He said they would launch a public campaign Sep 21 against Musharraf's election.