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Amidst conflicting claims about the extent of the response, Pakistanis on Tuesday voted in the controversial referendum, which is certain to consolidate the hold of President Pervez Musharraf on power for another five years.
While Presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi said 40 to 50 per cent of the eligible 70 million voters participated in the referendum, opposition parties, which dubbed the exercise as unconstitutional and undemocratic, claimed the lowest ever turnout and asked the president to step down immediately.
"The people of Pakistan have given the verdict against General Musharraf," said Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, head of the 15-party Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy.
"We demand he should immediately step down and let there be an interim civilian set up to run the affairs of the country till the October elections," he said.
Earlier, Musharraf, who toured a number of polling stations in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, said the 'large turnout' showed that the masses have rejected the boycott call of the opposition parties.
"People have divorced them (opposition) and they have no following among the masses," he told reporters after casting his vote along with his wife and mother at a polling booth in Rawalpindi.
Counting began immediately after voting ended and results are expected to be broadcast in half-hour intervals.
Observers said they were more interested in the turnout, rather than the final result as the true indication of the success of Musharraf, who came to power after dislodging the democratically elected government of Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999.
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